


Galaxies Together

by BrandyLynn91



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Explicit Language, F/M, Relationship(s), Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2020-09-23 07:35:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 39
Words: 70,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20336476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrandyLynn91/pseuds/BrandyLynn91
Summary: Commander Jane Shepard needs to get a team together to save the galaxy from the reapers where she meets Garrus Vakarian. She slowly gets her heart taken by him but there's also Kaidan. She tries to figure out her conflicted feelings while the time is counting down to stop the reapers.At the same time, Garrus uses Jane as a way to stop Saren but finds himself falling victim to her charm and good morality. He gradually seems to fall for her but he seems to be fighting for her affections against Kaidan.





	1. A Chance Meeting

* * *

Garrus couldn't believe they were going to let Saren get away with everything. He knew he had gone rogue but his spectre status made it impossible to find any solid proof. He had heard a human was trying to get his status revoked but he knew the council wouldn't listen to a human. He had to find a way so he went to the clinic in the wards to get information from the doctor there. But when he arrived, a damn thug was holding her hostage with a gun to her head. He laid low, waiting for the perfect shot. Then in walks that human girl giving him the distraction he needed to take his headshot at the thug. He couldn't believe how well this human handled herself during the firefight. She didn't seem too pleased with how he shot the thug while the doctor was still hostage but it worked and the doc was still alive. She told him she was Commander Jane Shepard and she needed information to bring Saren to justice. Justice. That was something he could get behind so he offered her his help and she accepted. At that moment was the first time he really looked at her. He saw her fire red hair, emerald green eyes and some kind of spots speckled across her face. He didnt know why but it reminded him of the stars in the galaxy. It almost mesmerized him.  
The doctor told Jane that Fist who was double crossing the shadow broker had set up a trap for a quarian with evidence against Saren and a krogan was hired to kill him. She decided to go talk to him, which was crazy because he's a krogan. Brutish and careless is what they were but he followed along. Just something about her made him trust her judgement. After meeting this krogan named Urdnot Wrex they had decided to go confront Fist. Upon entering Chora's den, a firefight immediately ensued. Yet again he was impressed with how she handled herself. She appeared to be a master behind the sniper scope and when needed, she'd bring out her pistol and take out anyone in her way. They ran into a couple weak looking workers with guns but instead of shooting them she had convinced them to walk away even though she could have easily killed them. He admired that while Wrex seemed annoyed but he was a krogan. Upon finally getting to Fist, she got him to easily give the location where he had set up an ambush for the quarian but right then Wrex shot him saying something about always finishing a job. She didn't seem too happy about it but allowed Wrex to join anyways. They had to race to the location to save the quarian. They got there right in time to help. Jane yet again showing her battle prowess. The quarian had managed to get a recording of Saren talking about the attack on eden prime from a geth she had killed. She introduced herself as Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. They immediately took her to the council. Upon showing them the evidence, they had agreed to strip Saren of his spectre status and recognized the female voice as the asari, Matriarch Benezia. They told them she had a daughter, Liara T'soni, studying prothean ruins. They suggested she talk to her and decided to grant her spectre status to catch Saren. He couldn't believe it. The first human spectre and he was there to witness it, he probably wouldn't have believe it if he hadn't seen it himself. Together they returned to Jane's ship, the SSV NORMANDY. A turian, quarian, and krogan on the first human/turian ship.


	2. Chance Meeting: Jane's POV

Jane was told to talk to a disgraced C-sec officer named Harkin to find the whereabouts of a turian named Garrus Vakarian. She found him in Chora's den and he immediately started with lewd comments about her fitting her uniform nicely and telling her to sit "her sweet ass" down with him. She gritted her teeth and politely refused. This wasn't the first time she had to deal with men like him. She turned on her charm and questioned him about Garrus. She survived the attack on Mindoir when she was 16 and was the sole survivor of the thresher maw attack on Akuze, she could handle him. He told her where he was and also said some things about Anderson having a grudge against Saren, blaming him for the captain not being accepted as a spectre 20 years ago. She figured she'd ask the captain about it later.  
She, Ashley, and Kaidan headed for the clinic in the wards to seek out Garrus. Upon entering she saw a thug holding a doctor hostage and as soon as he looked her way, a shot went through his head and a firefight ensued. Afterwards she voiced her objection to the turian for putting the doctor at risk. He just told her he needed the distraction and the doc was still alive. She had to admit to herself that it was a good shot. She got the info that a man named Fist had set up a quarian who had evidence against fist and a krogan was hired to kill him. The turian, Garrus Vakarian, offered to join her after he found out she was after Saren. She wasn't sure why but something told her that he would be a good ally to bring along. They sought out the krogan who turned out to be Urdnot Wrex, the same krogan she saw threatening a bouncer in the strip club where she ran into the lecherous Harkin. Wrex wanted to come with to get Fist and she accepted cause it couldn't hurt to have a krogan with. Upon entering Chora's Den, a firefight ensued. While she was taking out enemies, she could've sworn Garrus was keeping track on who killed more guards and chuckled to herself. Entering a backroom they encountered two workers with guns who looked scared. Rather than kill them, she convinced them to leave much to Wrex's dismay and Garrus seemed to agree with her. Maybe he wasn't just another trigger happy turian and surprisingly he didn't seem to be prejudiced against humans which was a nice change of pace for her. Something about him just made her want to get to know him more. They finally got to Fist and he easily gave up the location where he set up an ambush for the quarian. Right after that Wrex shot him. Jane voiced her disdain about it but he didn't seem bothered, saying something about finishing his job. They hurried to the alley just in time to save the quarian who had an omnitool recording of Saren and some woman talking about the attack on Eden prime. The quarian said her name was Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. They quickly took the evidence to the council who agreed to rescind Saren's spectre status and identified the woman as Matriarch Benezia. They decided to make Jane a spectre in order to catch Saren. She couldn't believe it. She was the first human spectre. She looked behind her and swore she saw Garrus smiling. He had a nice smile she thought to herself. She turned her attention back to the council who revealed the matriarch had a daughter named Liara T'soni who was off studying prothean ruins. They decided to go back to the Normandy to chase down the lead. Humans, a turian, a krogan, and a quarian working together on an alliance ship. This should be interesting she chuckled to herself before boarding.


	3. Therum

Garrus had just settled into the cargo bay where surprisingly Wrex and Ashley were also settled into. He wasn't particularly fond of the dirty looks Ashley gave him but he just shrugged it off. Humans and turians hadn't exactly been on the best terms since the first contact war. And Wrex surprised him. He wasn't savage like he had been led to believe all krogan were.   
Not even ten minutes after settling in, Jane had come down to talk to him. It was a surprise even though she talked to Ashley and Wrex also, she didn't HAVE to talk to him. She asked him how he was settling in and he ended up telling her how he appreciated the opportunity to work with a spectre and be free from the restraints of C-sec rules. Her reply was a simple some rules are there for a reason. He went on to tell her he didn't think it should've mattered how he handled a suspect just as long as he got what he needed. She expressed concern that she didn't want him to regret leaving just because he didn't like the rules. He let her know he just needed to get away for awhile and see how things are when he gets to go them his way. She told him that they won't let civilians get put in harm's way just to get a job done, that they get it done right and not fast. She sounded almost angry with him. He was stunned and tripped over his words a bit, which was completely new to him. No woman of any species had ever made him do that before. He somehow managed to get out that he didn't mean anything by it and told her he understood. After that Wrex made it his mission to discreetly mock him by teasing that he had a crush on a human commander. Garrus denied it of course but part of him wasn't sure.   
They set out on the MAKO on the planet Therum in search of Dr. T'soni. It wasn't the first time he'd been in the mako with Jane. She somehow thrilled and scared him with her driving. They had to fight their way through geth and turrets and even armatures. As before he was impressed with her battle and leadership skills. They got in relatively unscathed and when they got to the ruins they saw an asari trapped in some kind of barrier. It was Liara. She explained that she activated it when the geth came but was stuck inside and they'd have to find another way through. She also warned them that a krogan was with the geth. After dispatching them while he was trying to think of a way to the doctor, the wall beneath the lab all of a sudden blew away. Jane just decided to use the mining laser to make a path. It was both genius and reckless. She was impressing him more and more each time they went out together. They had made it to let Liara out and set out to leave the planet. Taking out any geth in their way. By his count she had killed as many as he did. She looked almost stunning just sniping them as she ran towards the Normandy.


	4. Therum: Jane's POV

After checking in with Joker, Jane decided to check in with her crew. She talked with Kaidan about his biotics a bit. He was a nice and capable man and seemed to like her.   
Upon entering the cargo bay, something compelled her to talk to Garrus first. She knew that turians and humans had bad relations in the past but he had offered to help her. She asked how he was settling in and he thanked her for bringing him along and expressed he was glad to be working with a spectre. She asked if he had worked with one before and he said no but he knew they had few restrictions and could do things their way and he was glad to leave C-sec for that reason. Confused, she asked if that was the reason he left. He told her he didn't like the restrictions and he should be able to do what he needs to get information from suspects. She expressed concern that she didn't want him to regret leaving. She really didn't want her first turian squadmate to regret his time with her. He told her he needed to leave to see how things go without so many rules and to get things done his way. She was a bit taken aback and firmly told him they won't do anything to put innocents in danger. He seemed worried and stuttered out he didn't mean anything by it and he understood. She worryingly hoped she hadn't made him hate her. She explained they would do what was needed within reason and went along her way. She could've sworn she saw wrex smirking in the corner but shrugged it off.   
Upon landing on Therum, they met heavy geth resistance. She hoped they weren't too late to get to the doctor. During the battles she was pretty impressed with Garrus. He seemed so calm while talking to her but was so aggressive while fighting enemies. It was admirable.   
They finally reached the ruins and found Liara trapped in some kind of barrier. Liara explained she set it off for protection and couldn't reach the controls and they'd have to find a way around. After a brief warning, more enemies showed up. With Garrus and Wrex with her, they quickly dispatched them and looked for a way to liara. Jane found a mining laser and decided to give it a try. After it blew a chunk of wall that seemed to startle Garrus and had Wrex laughing saying something about her having quads, they released Liara and made a break for the Normandy. Shooting their way past geth, she caught a glance of Garrus and couldn't help smiling. She didn't know what it was but there was just something about him. Something that relaxed her even in the middle of a fight.


	5. Conversations

Garrus had grown to enjoy and look forward to the times Jane would come to chat with him. One conversation was when she asked him about why he joined C-sec. He couldn't understand why a soldier and spectre like her would be interested but he felt compelled to answer her if only to keep her talking to him. He told her he joined because he wanted to take down bad guys and serve justice, that his father being a successful officer himself led him down that path. He reminisced about hearing about all his dad's big busts. He told her that his dad was taking his resignation hard and she asked why he wouldn't be impressed about him going after Saren and he explained that his dad was big on do things right or don't do them at all. He also told her that his dad talked him out of being a spectre candidate, that he doesn't like how they have unlimited power with no accountability and explained that he probably wouldn't like her. He didn't know why he thought she would care but for some reason he cared. She told him that she understood. She had once again surprised him. He thought she'd be more defensive. He told her that Saren isn't going to play by their rules, by C-sec's rules. She calmly told him that just because you can break the rules doesn't mean you should. She said she didn't need to stoop to his level to stop Saren and neither does he. Shock hit him again. He never stopped to think with that kind of logic for a long time. He told her he understood what she meant but he had to think about it.  
One conversation she had told him about Mindoir being attacked when she was 16. That her parents died helping her hide from the batarian raiders. That it was an alliance soldier who found and rescued her and was her inspiration to join. She also told him about when everyone else in her squad was killed by a thresher maw attack on Akuze. He didn't know what to say other than he was sorry. He thought about hugging her but refrained from it. He couldn't believe she survived all of that and still carried herself with the grace and strength that she did. She was truly a remarkable woman even by turian standards.


	6. Conversations: Jane's POV

Jane made her way down to the cargo bay after another mission. As usual she stopped and talked to Kaidan on the way. He told her about his time at a horrible biotics camp and the abuse they suffered there. He also expressed an interest in her. She liked him enough. He was kind and cute and available but there was something nudging at the back of her mind. She decided to talk to Garrus to get her mind off of things. He had a way of getting her to relax around him, a relaxation she's never known.  
She decided to ask Garrus about joining C-sec. He told her he wanted to catch bad guys and serve justice. He seemed like a very honorable man. Not just another turian but his own person. He told her his father was his inspiration while she remembered her own father working hard in Mindoir. She missed him and her mother dearly. Upon learning his father took his resignation hard she asked if he wasn't impressed with him going after Saren and he told her he didn't like spectres and the fact they had unlimited power and resources with almost no consequences. She reminded herself that she had promised not to be like that. He then told her that his father wouldn't like her. She told him she understood. She didn't care if his father liked her but for something reason Garrus's opinion mattered deeply to her, though she wasn't quite sure why. He then told her that Saren wasn't going to play by the rules. She knew that. That's one of the reasons she's going after him. She explained that she can catch him without stooping to his level and she believed Garrus could too. He seemed surprised and told her he understood and would think about it. She hoped he would come around. There's already too much of the powerful hurting the innocent and she was fighting for that just as she has been for years.   
She eventually ended up telling Garrus about the attack on Mindoir when she was 16. She told him how her parents sacrificed themselves to hide her once the batarian raiders came. She could still remember her father's face as he told her to stay hidden until it was safe. How a few minutes later she heard a shot and her mother scream then another shot followed by silence. How she hid like a coward until she made a run for it. She was lucky enough that it was an alliance soldier that found her. It was then that she decided she was going to get strong and be a fighter for justice just like that marine. Then she told him about Akuze and the thresher maw attack. How it wiped almost everyone out instantly. She could hear Corporal Toombs screaming in agony as acid entered his body. She somehow had held out and made it out of there alive even though she still had nightmares sometimes. She knew it had made her stronger and got her referred to the N7 program. Garrus stiffened and looked conflicted for a moment then uttered out an "I'm sorry". She wasn't worried about sympathy. She didn't know why she told him. The stories just kind of came out of her mouth almost like an impulse. She felt she could trust Garrus and wanted him to know about her just like she wanted to know more about him. She didn't understand what she was feeling. It was new and confusing. And she was thinking crazy. A human and turian could never work out and she thought he couldn't possibly have any interest so she kept it to herself.


	7. Noveria

They had arrived on Noveria. As soon as they stepped out, they were greeted with guards demanding that they relinquish their weapons. Jane just held her gun up and pointed it at them as if it was instinct. Garrus immediately followed suit. Well at least things are never boring with Jane he thought. She told them she was a spectre and she wasn't giving up her guns. They didn't seem to believe her. He guessed the news hadn't reached here yet. Just when it looked like things were going to get fun, the guards received word that she was telling the truth and they were allowed through. They found their way to the chief of the port, a sketchy salarian. Of course all salarians seemed sketchy to Garrus. They were the ones that created the genophage. He refused them passage saying a storm was causing unsafe conditions and their destination was a secret, private facility. Even Jane's charm didn't work on him and Garrus thought she could charm the pants off anyone. Upon leaving the office, the salarian's assistant told Jane to meet her by the hotel bar. There she told them she was investigating her boss under cover and told them to speak with a turian who had evidence against him and she would give them a garage pass if they did. He knew she could easily trade the info of the hanar smuggling for a pass but she chose to help bring down a corrupt business man. She really was about justice. He was really starting to admire her. Once speaking with the turian they learn his evidence is in his office which he's been kicked out of and the chief has guards in there. Jane agrees and they go into the office. Yet again, they quickly dispatch the guards. Garrus briefly got distracted by watching Jane and narrowly dodged a bullet. He quickly regained his composure and went back to shooting. He didn't understand why he felt compelled to watch her other than to watch her back. Jane grabbed the evidence and they returned it to the turian. She once again turned on her charm to convince him to testify against the chief too. After seeing the salarian arrested they got their pass and headed towards the facility. On the road there, Jane took out geth with the mako guns. She smiled and laughed while shooting them down. Now that was his kind of woman, he thought. Once inside Jane had to restore the systems manually which she did with relative ease. Garrus couldn't believe it. She was strong, charismatic, smart and beautiful. Wait he thought to himself. How could he think a human was beautiful? He didn't think bad of humans but he never found one attractive before. He was confused. He found his composure again once they saw these huge spider like creatures coming towards them. Him and Jane quickly shot them down, Liara even got a few hits in with her pistol. But then Jane spoke up.  
"Were those... rachni?"  
"That's not possible" Garrus replied. "They were eradicated by the krogan during the rachni wars"  
"Well, something's up. They look just like the vids. But we need to find Benezia. Let's go"  
Garrus knew she was right. But again he told himself that rachni were extinct. They fought their way through more rachni like creatures until they reached a room with some guards. A man introduced himself as Captain Ventralis. Upon Jane asking about what's going on he just told her they were on lockdown.  
"Do you know where Matriarch Benezia is?" Jane asked the captain.  
"I believe she headed over to the hot labs. Take this pass to used the elevator." The captain replied.  
Jane turned to Garrus and Liara and said  
"I wanna check on the other employees first."  
"You sure?" Garrus asked. "We should hurry to Benezia."  
"We can't just leave people if they need help. Besides I wanna find out what's really going on." She told him.  
He knew she didn't use her charm on him but he felt inclined to agree and trust her decision. After talking to a scientist and helping him make a cure for an illness, they finally took the lift to the hot labs. There they met a scientist. Upon asking he said Benezia wasn't there. Something's up, Garrus thought. He told them that they found an ancient egg and once it hatched they found out it was a rachni queen. He said they separated her eggs from her hoping to control the hatchlings but it didnt work and they attacked the facility. He also told them that they were beyond saving and they needed to activate the neutron purge to get rid of them. Jane told him to do it. As he got up to go to the console, a rachni claw all of a sudden pierced through his chest from behind. Jane quickly shot it down and searched the body to find the activation code. As soon as she punched it into the console, a 120 second timer popped up and rachni flooded the area. They raced towards the elevator while shooting them down. One almost got it's claws on Jane while she was helping Liara but Garrus shot it. You're not taking Jane he thought. After getting into the elevator, they went to confront the captain. He pulled his gun and told them that Benezia gave them orders to not let them live. Obviously, they had to dispatch of the guards and afterwards headed to the one place left. Upon reaching the secure labs, Benezia sicked her asari commandos on them. After dispatching them, Benezia spoke differently. She told them that Saren had used his ship, Sovereign to take over her mind and was sent here to get the location of the Mu Relay from the rachni queen in order to find the conduit. She then turned to Liara and told her she didn't have much time and just muttered out she was proud of her before turning hostile again. They had to kill her and after she fell, Jane went towards the confinement tank she was at. As she peered through it, a dead asari suddenly rose and spoke to her. It turned out to be the queen speaking through her. She told them that her mother's song was "turned sour" by some unknown force therefore they weren't fully responsible. She pleaded that she wanted to peacefully rebuild her children. Jane asked if she promised to disappear and not cause another war. The queen agreed and Jane then released her. Garrus really hoped that it wouldn't come back to bite them in the ass but admired her compassion. They decided to return to the ship. In conference, Liara asked if she could try and help Jane figure out what her visions were and touched her head. Garrus wondered what they were talking about but decided to say nothing.


	8. Noveria: Jane's POV

As they entered the Noveria port, some guards stopped them and demanded they state their business and relinquish their weapons. I can't believe this Jane thought.   
"I'm commander Jane Shepard. I'm here on spectre business and I need my guns." She told them.  
"A human spectre? Yeah, right." The guard in front said to her disapprovingly.  
"Trust me, you don't wanna do this." Jane replied. "My turian friend here is very trigger happy." She wasn't sure if that was a bluff herself but she hoped he wouldn't open fire. Just then a woman came down and told them she just received word that Jane was telling the truth and to let them through. Finally a sensible person, she thought. Upon asking about Benezia they were told to talk to the chief of the port. Before heading there, she pulled Liara aside to ask if she would be okay with hunting down her mother. She told Jane that she had not spoken to her mother in years and if she was evil, she needed to be stopped. That was enough for her but Garrus pulled her aside.  
"Are you sure it's wise to bring her along?" He asked.  
"She said she'd help and that's enough for me." She told him. She understood his concern but she believed Liara.  
"Well, I- alright. I trust your judgement." He replied. She looked at him in surprise. She didnt expect him to agree so easily.   
"Thanks, Garrus." She said.  
Upon meeting the chief and asking about Benezia and the facility she was at it became clear he would not grant them access. He gave them a story about a dangerous blizzard and the facility being private. She knew he wasn't worried about their safety, which made her more curious about what's going on with the facility here. His assistant stopped her and requested they meet at the hotel bar. Once there she told them her boss was corrupt and she needed evidence that a turian had against him. The turian told them the evidence was in his office which had been overrun by the chief's thugs. They went to the office where a firefight ensued. During the fight, she saw a guard aim his gun at Garrus and instantly shot him down. She wasn't going to let anyone hurt Garrus. She protected everyone under her command but for some reason she felt compelled to protect him more than usual. She shook off her confusion and grabbed the evidence. After convincing the turian to testify and seeing the salarian arrested they went to the garage. She took out geth on the road as they drove to the facility.   
"Whoo! I love these guns!" She shouted as she shot.  
After getting the systems back online and getting rid of creatures that looked alot like rachni, they headed further into the facility. They ran into some guards and one introduced himself as captain Ventralis and he told them the place was in lockdown. He wouldn't explain why and told her Benezia was in the hot labs. She felt that something was up and wanted to talk to others first. She helped a doctor procure a cure for an illness before getting to the hot labs. Once there, they ran into a single scientist. He told them about finding a rachni queen in an egg and separating her from her own children to control them only to have them attack the facility. She was not happy about this and told him to do the neutron purge he told her about. Just then, a rachni claw pierced his chest. She shot it down and grabbed the purge code from his body. After activating it, they were ambushed by rachni. On their way towards the elevator, Liara tripped. Jane stopped to help her up and heard the screech of a rachni right behind her then the sound of a shot followed by liquid dripping. It seemed Garrus had shot it before it did any harm to her. This was the guy she wanted to watch her back and he did it well she thought, smiling. Upon exiting the elevator from the hot labs, the captain trained his gun on Jane.  
"Sorry, commander. Benezia gave orders to kill you."  
"I knew you were hiding something. But at least I know she's here somewhere." She replied before shooting him down while Garrus instantaneously shot down his men as if he knew what she was thinking. They headed towards the last place left. Upon dispatching Benezia's guards, her demeanor changed. She told them that Saren was controlling her mind with his ship, Sovereign. And that it was the real threat. She revealed that Saren sent her here to question the rachni queen about the Mu Relay and conduit. Jane wondered if that had something to do with her visions about the reapers. Benezia then said a few parting words to Liara before turning hostile again. She saw Liara take a few shots at her mother but Jane made sure to get the kill shot. She wasn't about to make Liara deal with killing her own mother, besides she was trained for this. She thought she saw something moving in the confinement chamber and peered in trying to get a good look. She suddenly felt a presence behind her and drew her gun as she turned around to see one of the dead asari staring at her. Just then it spoke revealing itself to be the rachni using her as a vessel. She explained the rachni songs were turned sour by something and pleaded to be allowed to rebuild her children peacefully. It agreed to disappear forever or be destroyed, so Jane released it. Back on the Normandy during conference with everyone, Liara asked about joining minds to see if she could interpret Jane's visions, but everything was still too random to make any sense. She saw Garrus looking confused and realized she hadn't told him about the reapers yet. She asked him to stay behind the others. Kaidan looked worried but she wasn't sure why.  
"So back on Eden Prime, I pushed Kaidan out of harm's way and the prothean beacon activated. I saw what I could only describe as visions of something called reapers fighting with the protheans then blacked out." She told him. She didn't want it to seem like she was hiding anything.  
"Really? I thought reapers were myths?" He replied. Oh no, she thought. He thinks I'm crazy just like the council.  
"Yeah, well. It's what I saw. Then I blacked out and woke up in sickbay. That's when we went to tell the council about Saren and I told them about the vision. They didn't initially believe me about him either and that's why I needed evidence. They still don't believe me about the reapers. I mean I know I don't have any solid evidence and I'm just another human to them. I can understand why you don't believe me but I think they have something to do with the relay and conduit Saren is after. Just wanted to let you know." Jane rambled out before turning to walk away. Just then Garrus grabbed her arm.  
"No. I believe you. I mean rachni were supposed to be extinct and we just met and released a queen. And you're not just another human. You're a damn good one in my book and I agreed to help you and that's what I'm going to do, Jane." He told her, smiling. She couldn't believe it. He actually believed her and he called her by her first name like he viewed her as a person. She smiled at him, tears of joy almost welling up in her eyes.  
"Thank you, Garrus. And I'm here if you need me." She told him. She wanted to hug him but didn't think it was appropriate so she just went on her way.


	9. The Doctor

Garrus went back down to the cargo bay after his conversation with Jane. Reapers. He couldn't believe it but he's already seen mind control and a rachni queen, and Jane spoke with such conviction. She trusted him with the information even though she thought he'd think she was crazy so he knew he had to trust her. He still couldn't believe he called her by her first name, he didn't mean to but it just came out that way and the look of relief on her face made him glad he did. His father would rip him a new one for that. Not because she was a human or a spectre, but because she was his commanding officer at the moment. But he meant what he said and her telling him if he needed anything got him thinking.  
It wasn't long before he heard the elevator and out walked Jane. He felt elated. He grew to look forward to her frequent visits. He almost smiled but then he saw Wrex smirking at him, he still hadn't lightened up on teasing Garrus about Jane but he was beginning to think that it wasn't false claims. Of course, He'd never let Wrex know that.  
"Can you tell me more about your time at C-sec?" She asked.  
"Again?" Garrus laughed. "Nothing as fun as what you've done, but I have had some uh interesting cases."  
"Can you tell me more?" She asked. She sounded genuinely intrigued.   
"Well, there was this one salarian doctor. That was quite the disturbing case."   
"How so?" She asked.  
"Well, we got info that he was dealing in the organ black market trade. That was nothing unusual. Saw that kind of thing pretty often. But when we raided his office we didn't find anything. No livers, no hearts, not even any krogan testicles." He replied. Oh spirits, he thought. Why did he mention krogan testicles of all things?  
"You're kidding. Krogan testicles?" She laughed.   
"Yeah. You'd be surprised what people will buy. After awhile we finally got what we needed. Turned out he was growing the extra organs in his test subjects." He went on.  
"That's horrible."  
"Yeah. And to make matters worse. He got away thanks to regs. He took a ship with some hostages and C-sec refused to fire on it to spare innocents caught in any crossfire."   
"Well, I can see why they would do that." She told him.  
"I don't!" He retorted. "Because of them, he got away to continue doing his horrible experiments!" She looked a bit taken aback by his anger. Oh no, he thought. She's never going to want to talk to him again. Just when he was going to apologize, she spoke up.   
"It was a tough call, but if we don't protect the innocent, we're no better than the people we punish in the name of justice." She stated calmly.  
"I- maybe you're right." He said. She did make a valid point as always.  
"So what happened with him? Did you ever find him?" She asked.  
"Well, like I said he got away. I put feelers out for him. Finally got a location. Apparently he changed his name to Dr. Heart. Some kind of sick joke I suppose." She then asked him for the navpoint and told him they'd find him. That's exactly what he was hoping for.  
They boarded the ship that the doctor was on. A couple rooms in, they ran into some zombie like creatures that spit acid when they got close enough. They had no choice but to shoot them down. Finally they reached the doctor.  
He tried claiming he wasn't who they thought. Jane turned to Garrus and asked if he was sure. He reassured her that he was. He'd never forget that monstrous salarian. Just when he pointed his gun at him, Jane stopped him. He asked what she was doing, that he deserved it. She explained to him that they didn't know everything that was going on and that they should arrest and question him. Garrus didn't completely understand but he reluctantly agreed. She has earned his trust after all. He explained that the doctor was lucky but he just looked annoyed. He then took out a pistol and aimed it at Jane. Garrus quickly shot him in the head before he had a chance.   
"No one's going to hurt her while I'm around." He muttered. He hoped no one heard him, especially Wrex. He didn't need anymore fodder for his teasing. He then turned to Jane and asked what the point of that was. She explained to him that they didn't need to resort to shooting unless absolutely necessary. Garrus told her he guess he saw her point and they headed back. He had alot to think about.


	10. The Doctor: Jane's POV

Feeling relieved that Garrus didn't think she was crazy. Jane made her way towards the elevator when Kaidan stopped her.   
"What was that about with Garrus?" He asked her.  
"Well, I realized that I hadn't told him about the beacon or visions yet. I didn't want it to seem like I was hiding anything." She told him.  
"Oh. Alright then." He replied. He seemed almost jealous. She didn't understand why. She knew he liked her and she cared for him too. She still felt a bit conflicted with her feelings for Garrus but she kept telling herself that there's no way he saw her that way. She chatted with Kaidan a bit longer before continuing on her way.   
Upon reaching Garrus, she decided to ask him more about his time at C-sec. He told her about a salarian doctor who ended up growing extra organs in patients to sell on the black market. She couldn't believe it though the part about krogan testicles had made her laugh. He then went on blaming the authorities for letting him get away when he took a ship with hostages. When she said she understood why they did that he got angry and that was the first time she heard him yell, though she wasn't sure if it was at her or out of frustration. Oh no, she thought. Now I made him angry at me but she just calmly stated that someone has to look out for innocents no matter how tough the decision is. He seemed like he was going to object but he told her maybe she was right. Upon asking him what happened next, he explained he got away but he recently got info on his changed name and whereabouts so she decided to ask where it was so they could go after him. Garrus looked relieved and told her that he'd hope she'd say that.  
They found the ship he was located on and boarded. A couple rooms in they ran into these acid spitting zombie like people.  
"Were- were these his patients?" Jane asked horrified.  
"I'd bet on it." Garrus replied.  
"We need to stop him. This is just wrong." Jane told him. She felt absolutely disgusted and like she did the zombies a favor by shooting them down. They also found machines covered in green, blue, and red blood. This place was a horror show she thought. They finally got to the room with the salarian doctor when Jane spoke up.  
"Doctor Saleon, I presume?"  
"What? No. I'm Doctor Heart. I've never heard of that man." He claimed.  
"Garrus, you sure this is the guy?" She asked.   
"This is the guy. I'd never forget his damn dirty work." He replied as he raised his gun to the doctor.  
"Don't!" Jane put her hand on his gun to lower it.  
"What the hell are you doing, Shepard?" Garrus asked.  
"We should arrest him and let the authorities question him." She replied. It stung a bit that he went back to using her last name but she just shook it off for the moment.  
"After what he's done? Are you kidding me?"  
"Look. We don't know everything that he's done. We should find out more." She told him firmly, hoping he'd listen.  
"But- alright, fine." He said turning to the salarian. "It's your lucky day."  
"Oh, thank you so much!" The doctor replied sarcastically before pulling out a pistol and aiming it at Jane. Garrus quickly shot him down before anything happened.   
"Now what was the point in that?" Garrus asked her. "I had to shoot him anyways."  
"You HAD to now but you didn't before. Sometimes it's best not to kill people unless it's absolutely necessary. He made that choice for you. Justice isn't just about shooting people all the time." She replied.  
"I guess you have a point. Let's get outta here. I have some stuff to think about."  
"Alright."She agreed. She was grateful to him for having her back yet again but decided to let him have some time to himself.


	11. Feros

Garrus was feeling a little down that Jane hadn't come visit him since taking down the doctor. He had told her he needed time to think but he had still hoped she'd continue her frequent visits. They were always the highlight of his time on the Normandy when they weren't out shooting Geth.  
"What's wrong, turian? Missing a certain female commander?" Wrex teased from across the bay.  
Shit, he noticed. Garrus thought but before he could retort they heard Jane on the comm.  
"Wrex. Garrus. Suit up. We're reaching Feros." She told them.  
Well, at least I'll get to see her and get some geth action, Garrus thought as he smiled.  
As soon as they exited the Normandy, they saw geth attacking some colonists. They immediately stepped into action. He and Jane sniped the geth from a distance while Wrex did his usually deadly head butting whenever his shotgun started overheating. Afterwards, Garrus stole a glance at Jane but before he could say anything she had started running towards the colonists. After talking with the leader they learned that they were a small colony on the planet with the exogeni research facility. The leader told them that their big problem was the geth transmitter in the tunnels and they had mediocre problems that the other colonists could tell them about. Jane decided she wanted to talk to them. Upon doing so they found out they had a water shortage, a need for power cells, and a problem with an alpha varren. Upon asking about the colonists odd behavior, the leader just excused it as an effect of the geth attacks though Garrus noticed Jane didn't seem convinced. He also told them not to worry about the menial problems but Jane seemed determined to help them with everything. Yet again she showed such compassion even though it wasn't necessary of her. Garrus had learned to admire that about her, he even stopped arguing about it or pointing it out and just went along with it.  
Inside the tunnels and through a doorway, they ran into the alpha varren and after taking the pack down and grabbing power cells, Jane mentioned something about wanting a varren as a pet. He thought she was joking but realized she was probably crazy and tough enough to handle one. Further into the tunnels, she had turned on the water pumps and they ran into a lone colonists. He seemed like he was trying to warn them about something but then he started yelling at himself and Garrus thought he was plain crazy. Jane tried to offer him help but he claimed she couldn't do anything and stopped talking. They then took out the transmitter and headed back. The colonists seemed grateful but were still acting odd. They decided it would be best to head for the exogeni facility, along the way Jane took out geth with the mako guns again, even though a few times he swore she was going to drive off the edge. They intercepted radio chatter and found some of the scientists holed up. Two of them were arguing about what to do. The woman seemed to be worried about her daughter and the man was telling her to forget about it. Jane told the woman she'd keep a lookout for her and upon asking they claimed not to know why the geth were attacking. After telling them to stay hidden, they continued to head towards the facility. Upon exiting the mako in the garage, a gunshot had barely missed Jane and Garrus immediately aimed his gun at the direction to see a scared young woman.  
"Shit. I'm sorry. I thought you were a geth or varren." She apologized profusely.  
"Look. It's fine. Just try not to do it again." Jane told her.  
"Who are you?" Garrus inquired. He wasn't happy about her almost shooting Jane and was still holding up his gun.  
"Easy Garrus. It was an accident. I'd be jumpy too if I was her." Jane told him.  
"I- again I'm so sorry. My name is Lizbeth. I was trying to finish up some data when we evacuated and got stuck behind this forcefield." She timidly replied.  
"Lizbeth? Your mother was looking for you." Jane told her then turned to Garrus. "Seriously, you can put the gun down."  
"She's alive? Thank God." Lizbeth said gratefully.  
"Do you know what's causing this forcefield?" She asked the girl.  
"I think they have a ship powering it." She told them.  
"Alright. Stay here. Guys, let's go take down this forcefield." Jane told them.  
"I hope it involves blowing something up!" Wrex exclaimed.  
"Probably. but we just got done blowing up geth on the bridge." Jane told him.  
"Yeah but that was like over 20 minutes ago, Shepard." Wrex said while both she and Garrus just shook their heads while they headed into the building.  
They took out the geth room by room until they came into a room where it looked like the geth was worshipping some kind of tech. They were puzzled about it but decided they needed to move on. They finally happened upon where the geth ship was attached to the building. Upon reading a note, they learned the bay doors that the ship's legs were attached to were being glitchy. Jane used this to her advantage to make the doors slam down on them, making the whole ship fall and blow up.  
"Look at that. Your girly human is pretty resourceful." Wrex told Garrus while nudging it.  
"Knock it off." Garrus told him even though he has grown impressed with how she handles situations like this.  
"You guys say something?" Jane asked.  
"Yeah! You sure know how to show a krogan a good time, Shepard. I mean we get to shoot geth and blow up their ships. Whoo!" Wrex exclaimed. At least he hasn't let Jane know about his teasing and suspicions Garrus thought. Jane just smiled at him and for some reason that made Garrus lose himself for a moment. After a little banter, they decided to go ask about this Thorian creature they. found out about from the VI. Upon asking Lizbeth about the thorian, she confessed that it was some creature they found that seems to have mind control powers and the real reason she stayed behind was to try to get a message out because she didn't agree with using the colonists as test subjects.  
Down the road, they heard arguing on the comm again and upon investigating they saw the man aiming his gun at the woman. Lizbeth ran over there before Jane could stop her so they were forced to show themselves. The man was yelling about exogeni forgetting them and that they were expendable in a panic. Jane somehow managed to use her charm to calm him down although Garrus would've personally preferred to shoot him. She told him she knew about the thorian and the colonists. He confessed to his involvement while the woman seemed generally confused. He told them that the thorian was under the colony but its control over the colonists would force them to die defending it from being found. Jane expressed the desire to find a way to not harm the colonists when the woman inquired that she could concoct a gas for their grenades that would simply knock them out. Jane agreed to it after finding out it wouldn't affect them at all.  
"Remember do not kill the colonists." Jane told them.  
"Are you sure this will work?" Garrus asked her. He was a bit skeptical.  
"Well, we'll find out. Just don't shoot them. They're under mind control of that creature." She told him before they headed out. There she goes being all compassionate again he thought as he smiled. It used to annoy him as a hindrance but now he was happy to comply with her wishes.  
Once reaching the colony, some zombie like thralls that were beyond saving were mixed with the colonists. Garrus and Wrex carefully shot down the thralls while Jane perfectly threw the knockout gas at the colonists. Upon reaching the crane control and lifting part of the building up to reveal a hidden tunnel the colony leader showed up with a gun. They all pointed their guns back. Jane tried reasoning with him but he was incoherently talking about being controlled before shooting himself in the head. Jane looked away for a moment and seemed bothered she couldn't help him before leading them into the tunnels. Upon entering they came across a giant plant like entity that spread throughout the tunnels.  
"We're gonna need bigger guns." Jane expressed.  
Then a green looking asari was spit out from the creature. The asari told them that Saren struck a deal with the thorian in exchange for a cipher for the prothean beacon, he would leave the thorian be. She then tells them that Saren betrayed it by sending the geth to attack it to prevent Jane from getting the cipher. The asari then called them meat bags and attacked. After taking her and the thralls down, Jane started shooting at the thorian roots attached to the walls. Garrus realized what she was doing and he and Wrex shot down the thralls as they came at her until she finally shot enough roots to knock it down, killing it. After wards, the asari came from a pod in the wall. She explained that she was with benezia and was left as a gift for the thorian from Saren. She then told them she could give Jane the prothean cipher for the beacon and linked with her just like Liara had done before. Jane seemed a little drained afterwards but said she was fine when Garrus asked. He wasn't sure if she really was but decided not to push it but he kept an eye on her as they headed out. Upon exiting they saw the scientists had rejoined the colonists. The colonists thanked them after they were asked if they were okay. The colonists and scientists told them they were gonna stay behind and rebuild. Jane double checked to see if they were okay before they headed back to the Normandy.  
In conference, Liara offered to join minds again to see if the cipher helped. Afterwards she said it seemed to be a warning but still didn't understand what it meant.  
Later on in the cargo bay, Garrus heard the elevator and was delighted to see Jane.  
"Hey Garrus. You up for talking?" She asked.  
"Yeah." He replied, trying to act casual despite his joy. "I wanted to thank you."  
"Thank me?" She asked, seeming confused.  
"Yeah. After what happened with the doctor, I've been thinking I might go back to C-sec. Of course, not before we take down Saren." He told her. It looked like she seemed conflicted for a moment but then she smiled.  
"That's great!" She exclaimed.  
"Yeah. You make fighting for the innocent seem a little easier than it felt before. I see everything you do and how you stick to your convictions has inspired me. I don't think I've met anyone like you before. I just--" He was telling her before he heard Kaidan on her comm asking her to come up.  
"Yeah. One minute, Kaidan." She replied into her comm. "I'm sorry. You were saying?" She said turning back to Garrus.  
"Uh, nothing. Just like I said I wanted to thank you and I can't wait to take down Saren." He said, feeling a little disappointed.  
"Okay. Well, I'm proud of you, Vakarian." She told him before heading back.  
"Well, that went smooth." Wrex laughed from his corner.  
"You guys know that Alenko is sweet on her, right?" He heard Ashley say from the lockers.  
"Oh. Looks like you have competition, pyjak." Wrex teased him.  
"No. It's not like that." Garrus replied, defensively. Of course, he's sweet on her. He thought. Who wouldn't be. She's beautiful, strong, smart, charming, and resourceful. Then he shook himself off trying to get rid of those thoughts. Thinking she'd rather be with someone of her own kind anyways.


	12. Feros: Jane's POV

Jane refrained herself from going down to talk to Garrus. As much as she wanted to, she decided it was best to give him time after he said he needed to think about what happened with the doctor. She had hoped she didn't push him to wanting to leave. As upset as he seemed, she stood by what she did. Finally unable to stand it, she had decided to go talk to him when Joker announced they were approaching Feros. Damn. She thought. She'll have to wait until after to talk to him so she decided to let Wrex and Garrus know they were there and to suit up.  
They had barely set foot on the planet when they saw the colonists were being overrun by geth. Jane immediately started sniping where she stood with Garrus right beside her. She took a second to steal a glance at him. She was still impressed by his skill even after so many battles with him, still hoping she hadn't angered him enough to make him want to leave. She didn't know what she'd do without him fighting by her side. After the last geth was down, she ran for the colonists. As much as she wanted to talk to Garrus, she knew she had to make sure the colony was okay. She had managed to find the leader of the colony.  
"How is everyone doing?" She asked him.  
"Whoever is left is fine thanks to you guys. We have a few minor problems that the others are looking over, although our big concern is the geth transmitter in the tunnels." He told her.  
"Can you tell me why the geth are here?" She inquired. It seemed odd to her that they would attack such a small colony.  
"I have no clue. It must have something to do with the exogeni facility." He claimed.  
"Tell me more about your other issues." She said. She wanted to help as much as she could.   
"Well food, water, and power. Like I said the others are looking at them. We really need that transmitter taken care of though."  
"Well, I think I'll still talk to them." She told him.  
Upon talking to the others, she found out about the details of their problems and told them she'd try to help out. She noticed they seemed a little strange and secretive but upon asking the leader about it, he just brushed it off as stress from the attacks. She didn't quite believe him but decided to move on to the tunnels. A little into the tunnels, they ran into the varren pack. After taking down the alpha and others, she turned to Wrex and Garrus.  
"Okay. Is it bad that I seriously want one to keep in my cabin?"  
"You're joking." Garrus said to her.   
"Sure you could handle one?" Wrex asked.  
"Why not? Sure they can be temperamental and not the prettiest thing to look at but I'm sure they just want lots of cuddles. Just like you Wrex." She told him.  
"Ha! Just try it once, Shepard. Though I admit, you might just have the quads for it." Wrex laughed.  
"I was talking about the varren."  
"Sure you were." He laughed.  
"Uh, maybe we should move on." Garrus interrupted.  
"Yeah, okay. Let's go." Jane replied although she really did want one. She grabbed some power cells for the colony before heading out.  
Along the tunnels, she had turned on the water valves when they ran into a colonist.  
"What are you doing down here?" She asked him.  
"The voices... they won't-ugh." He yelled, holding his head.  
"What's wrong?" She inquired.   
"They won't-argh. Stop. I have to warn-ugh." He screamed, kneeling on the ground.  
"Sir, what can I do to help?" She started stepping closer to him before Garrus tried to stop her.  
"Uh, I think he might just be crazy." Garrus told her.  
"He looks like he's in pain." She replied.  
"Just..just go away!" The colonist yelled. She tried talking to him but he ignored her. Hesitantly, Jane decided to go on her way. They finally managed to find and destroy the transmitter before heading back to the colony. They thanked her before she headed on her way to the facility.   
She took out more geth with the mako guns on the road.  
"Why don't I ever get to drive and shoot?" Garrus asked.  
"Because I'd like to get there in one piece and with the mako intact." Jane retorted.  
"With how you drive, I'd think this thing was indestructible." Garrus retorted.  
"You told me to drive off that cliff." She said.  
"No. I said DON'T go over the cliff. Then you told me not to tell you what to do and over we went."   
"Hey! We survived." Jane laughed before shooting down another armature. "How many is that now, Garrus?"  
"How would I know?" He asked.  
"I know you're keeping count." She said confidently while shooting another geth.  
"I have no idea what you-- 36." He admitted with a sigh.   
"Thought so." She smirked at him. Just then they caught some chatter on the comm and arrived at a tunnel where some scientists were at. They saw a woman and man arguing.  
"What's going on here? Why are the geth attacking?" Jane asked them.  
"I-I'm not sure but I need to find my daughter, Lizbeth." The woman answered.  
"Face it. She's dead just like everyone else!" The man interjected.   
"There's some colonists that survived. Maybe you should join them." Jane told him.  
"I assumed they were all dead but no it's safer here." He replied sounding panicked.  
"Alright. Just stay hidden then." She said before turning to the woman. "I'll keep a lookout for your daughter."  
"Thank you, commander." The woman replied.  
They continued on the road until they reached the garage. Upon turning a corner, a shot barely missed Jane. Garrus was the first with his gun up. She realized it was a scared young woman who immediately started to apologize profusely. Jane calmly talked to her, knowing accidents happen. She noticed Garrus had his gun up still and told him he could put it down. She then asked the girl about what she was doing there and the girl explained her name was Lizbeth and she was grabbing some research but ended up being stuck behind the geth forcefield. Jane explained her mother was looking for her and told Garrus to put his gun down again. Seriously he was paranoid, she thought. She admired his vigilance. It actually made her feel safer but she realized the girl was really scared. Lizbeth told them there was a geth ship attached to the facility that was powering the forcefield. Jane told her to stay where she was until they could get it down and headed into the facility.  
They took out geth room by room until they reach an area where some geth were bowing down to some orb. Jane discreetly sniped them then turned to her squad.  
"Were they worshipping that?" She asked.   
"Looks like it but I'll be damned if I know what it is." Garrus replied. Jane looked at it puzzlingly for a moment before moving on. A few more rooms in, Wrex pointed out the legs of the geth ship attached to a cargo bay door. Upon inspecting the controls, Jane noticed a note saying the doors were acting faulty. She set them to max power and pushed the button and then the doors came smashing down breaking the legs of the ship and sent it crashing down. Wrex said something to Garrus while nudging him but when Jane asked him what he said, he told her she knew how to show a krogan a good time.   
"Stick with me and I'm sure we'll find plenty of things to blow up." She laughed. She smiled confidently even though she hadn't even been sure it would work but they didn't need to know that.  
"Fine, but next time I get to push the button that'll blow things up." Wrex replied.  
"We'll see, Wrex." She said before deciding to head back to Lizbeth.  
They met back up with her and headed back down the road.   
"What happened to all the geth?" Lizbeth asked.  
"They, uh, had an accident." Jane replied.  
"Accident?" Garrus remarked while raising a brow.  
"Yeah. They 'accidentally' found themselves in front of the mako's gun.. and missiles." She laughed.  
They had gotten near where the scientists were holed up when they heard arguing. Jane stealthily lead the others behind some concrete cover to investigate. Upon seeing the man aiming a gun at woman from before, Lizbeth ran over. Jane tried to stop her but to no avail so they were forced out of cover.  
"EXOGENI DOESN'T CARE! WE'RE ALL EXPENDABLE AND WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" The man screamed as he pointed his gun towards Garrus.   
"Okay, stop!" Jane confronted the man while stepping in front of Garrus. She wasn't going to let anyone get shot, specially not Garrus. "I know about the Thorian and the experiments on the colonists."  
"What are you talking about?" The woman asked, confused.  
"I don't--" The man started before Jane interjected.  
"Save it. Lizbeth already told me. What you need to do is put your gun down so I can save all your asses and if you don't, I'll be forced to shoot you to protect the others." Jane firmly held her ground. She could tell that Garrus was trying to get in front of her but she gave him a "let me handle this" look pleadingly and he backed off.  
"Alright, fine." The man sighed. "The thorian is some kind of plant like creature that uses spores to control other beings. We were studying it's affects on the colonists here. It seems that that's what the geth are after for some reason. It's right below the colony but it'll make the colonists defend it's lair, even if that means running into your gunfire."  
"There's gotta be a way to get to it without harming the colonists." Jane said.  
"I could concoct a gas for your grenades that'll knock them out safely and not affect you." The woman told her.  
"Do it." Jane replied. She got the gas formula from her and they went on their way. She told her squad not to harm the colonists no matter what. Garrus started to interject but she told him they'd find out if it would work and if not, they'd knock them out themselves but wouldn't kill them. He hesitantly agreed and she noticed he didn't argue with her methods very often lately and that made her happy.   
Upon reaching the colony, they came across some kind of zombie thralls that were beyond saving mixed with the colonists. Jane instructed Wrex and Garrus to take care of the thralls while she handled the colonists. Everytime a thrall got near her, she saw a shot go through their head. Good old Garrus, she thought. She carefully coordinated her grenades to get the gas explosion close enough to knock out the colonists. After everyone was cleared out, she found a console that opened part of the building which revealed tunnels going underground. She heard Wrex clear his throat.  
"What? It didn't make anything explode." She told him.  
"Yeah. But it could've." She heard him mutter. She made a note to herself to let him blow something up sometime.  
Right before they headed into the tunnels, the colony leader showed up before them holding a pistol.  
"It's-urgh no use. It wants... me to kill... you." He strained his words as if he was in pain.  
"Let's not do anything hasty." Jane replied, as she and the others put their guns up. "I'm here to help you."  
"It-it won't let me-ugh... allow- but I won't-can't...control-" He strained out before putting his gun to his head.  
"No! Wait-" Jane tried to stop him but he pulled the trigger. Some blood splattered onto her face and she half turned her face away. She stood there for a second. Dammit. She thought. She just looked at him. She was disappointed in herself for not being able to help him. If only she would've been faster. She got her composure hoping the others didn't notice and led them into the tunnels.  
A little ways in, they came across this gigantic plant like creature with tendrils clinging onto the walls. She told they others that they're going to need bigger guns. Just then a greenish asari was ejected out of the thorian. She spoke of a deal with Saren in exchange for a prothean cipher, he would let the thorian be. Then said he went back on his word, sending geth to kill it so she couldn't get the cipher. Shortly after, it talked about making them new thralls. The asari let out a biotic blast that knocked Jane off her feet. Garrus immediately killed the asari. Jane looked around and shot at one of the tendrils, which seemed to cause it pain. She figured if she shot enough of them, it would fall into the depths to its death. She immediately ran towards other tendrils and started shooting them down. Garrus and Wrex took out any thralls that came near her. Finally, she got the last one and it fell. Then the asari came out of some kind of pod, but she was the normal blueish tint. She explained Saren bartered her with the thorian and she had some of its knowledge. She offered to give Jane the cipher and joined with her just like Liara had done. Images flooded through Jane's mind like before but she couldn't make much sense of them and she felt a bit disoriented afterwards. Garrus asked if she was okay and she said she was. She didn't want him to worry. She could see him watching her so she did her best to walk straight.   
Once they were back aboveground, they noticed the scientists had come to the colony and the colonists were awake and back to normal. They thanked her and said they were going to rebuild. She checked to make sure they were okay and after they thanked her again, she headed on her way. A few meters from the Normandy, she heard a whine and looked behind some crates.   
"Oh! What have we here?" Jane exclaimed while picking up a varren pup that was tan with red stripes.  
"Uh, what are you doing?" Garrus asked.  
"Well, I can't leave him here. He'll die on his own. He's just a baby." She replied and started walking towards the ship while carrying the varren.  
"This outta be fun." Wrex laughed while Garrus shook his head.  
"Joker's gonna love this." Garrus said sarcastically.  
"He'll deal." Jane said. "I think I'll call you Carnifex. Carn for short."  
"Are you naming it after a gun?" Garrus laughed.  
"That a problem?" She glared.  
"Um, no. That's actually pretty cool." He said.  
"Good." She said triumphantly while boarding the Normandy.  
In the meeting room, Liara linked with Jane again. She said it was a little more clear with the cipher and it seemed to be some kind of warning but she couldn't tell more.  
Finally, I can talk to Garrus. Jane thought. She headed towards the cargo bay without stopping to talk with Kaidan like she normally did. Once down there, Garrus said he wanted to thank her. He explained that he thought about what happened and decided to go back to C-sec after they dealt with Saren. Jane felt a little pain in her chest. She didn't want to lose Garrus. But she shook it off and said she was happy for him. He was doing what he thought was best for him and she felt she should support him. He started to say something else when her comm went off. It was Kaidan asking for her to come up. She told him she'd be there in a minute and turned back to Garrus. He looked a little troubled then said he just wanted to thank her and he couldn't wait to get Saren. She stood there for a second, then told him she was proud of him and hesitantly went to see what Kaidan wanted.  
"Are you angry?" Kaidan asked her once she was back from the cargo bay.  
"What? No. What makes you ask?" Jane inquired.   
"Just you didn't stop by like you normally do." He said.  
"I just wanted to check up on Garrus." She told him.  
"Oh. Well, okay then." He sounded almost jealous again, she thought before changing to a casual topic. She was still reeling from the thought of Garrus leaving when this was all over.


	13. Old Wounds

Garrus wasn't sure what time it was. He assumed it was late because everyone except the skeleton crew on the ship was asleep. He was about to grab a dextro snack before going back to sleep when he heard the elevator go off. He looked in the direction of it and saw Jane come walking out. She was wearing a tank top and shorts and her hair was disheveled. Even though she looked as if she just got out of bed, he thought she looked mesmerizing as always. He was torn from his thoughts when she spoke up.  
"Did I wake you?" She asked.  
"No. Is something wrong?" He replied. He was happy to see her but she normally didn't come down to talk at this time of night.  
"No. Yes. Well, maybe." She sounded a bit distraught he thought. "Remember when I told you about my whole squad being taken out by a thresher maw?"  
"Yeah. I imagine that had to be hard."  
"Okay. And remember when we found that one squad that had been killed by another thresher?" She asked.  
"Yeah. Those things aren't easy to take down even with the mako. I'd guess they were no match." He replied.   
"Well, I talked with the admiral whose command they were under. He claimed they would know better than to walk into a thresher nest and he said he found evidence that a group called Cerberus was involved." She trailed on, sounding both drowsy and angry.  
"Isn't that the group that that Toombs guy told you had set up your squad?" He asked.  
"Yeah. It can't be a coincidence." She replied.  
"How are you doing with that? With finding out he survived?" He realized he didn't ask her about that yet.  
"I don't know. Angry and guilty." She replied. Garrus noticed she had her fists clenched. She went on to tell him that she couldn't believe someone could do that to people just to experiment on them and that she blamed herself for not going back to see if anyone made it. He tried to tell her she couldn't have known and from what he heard, she was lucky she even made it out alive. She looked like she was contemplating what he told her and said she knew he was right but she still didn't like losing people or leaving them behind. From what he's seen of her, of her determination and compassion, he could see why she was taking it so hard. She told him that the admiral had told her on a secure channel that he found the cerberus faction base but that he said they were after him. She said he had disappeared but he gave her the location in his message. She asked if they could go check it out. He told her they could go immediately after she's dressed and he would wake Wrex. She thanked him and went to go get ready.   
"Hey, Wrex. Get up." He yelled across the bay.  
"Stupid pyjacks... Grr...huh?" Wrex sleepily replied.  
"Come on, we have to go." Garrus slapped his back.  
"Wha? Time to go blow up some geth?" Wrex opened his eyes.  
"No. Some defected alliance humans." He told him.  
"What for? They working for Saren too?"  
"No. It's more of a personal mission Shepard asked us to do." He told Wrex.  
"Ooh. I see. The commander asked you for a favor and you were all too happy to help." Wrex teased.  
"Shut up and just get ready." Garrus said annoyed but Wrex was already walking towards the elevator saying krogans are always ready for a fight.  
Once on the planet where the navpoint was, they soon found a facility. The mako was oddly quiet. Jane wasn't driving crazy or yelling while she took out the turret guns. She just shot them down quickly and ran into the facility without saying a word. Garrus and Wrex had to run to keep up with her. Once inside they found rachni. Garrus was wondering where Cerberus got them but Jane just shot them down quickly and continued into the facility. In the last room after taking out some cerberus agents, she just said the admiral wasn't there and headed back out into the mako. Jane was quiet on their drive to the next facility again.  
"Shepard." Wrex spoke up. "What's up? Pyjack got your-"  
"Shut it, Wrex." She interrupted, irritated.  
"But-" He started.  
"I said shut up!" She yelled.  
"Yeah, you're right. Quiet drive is fine." Wrex mumbled. Garrus had never seen her like this. He gathered Wrex felt something was wrong too since he stayed quiet the rest of the drive.  
Upon reaching the second facility, Jane again took out the turrets then got out and shot down the surrounding guards without saying a word and quickly ran into the facility. Inside they found thorian thralls. Jane quickly shot them down again but one managed to spit acid on her arm. She gasped but kept running.   
"Jane, wait!" Garrus tried calling out. "We need to put medigel on-" She had disappeared down the hall before he could finish.   
"Dammit." He said to himself.   
"What's up with Shepard?" Wrex asked.  
"Well, remember that squad of alliance marines we found that were killed by a thresher? Turns out they were lured there by cerberus and an admiral contacted her saying he was going after them, then disappeared." He told him as they chased after Jane.   
They caught up with her in the last room, she was looking around frantically.  
"Damn! He's not here either!" She yelled and ran back out towards the entrance.  
"Jane. We need to patch up that wound." Garrus told her as he chased after her. He and Wrex managed to catch up with her to the mako.  
"We really need to take care of-" Garrus started.  
"No time. I have to find the admiral." Jane interjected.   
Garrus was about to argue with her but then she brought the mako to a full stop and hopped out in front of another facility. She started running into the building when guards suddenly opened fire on them. She quickly took them out then ran inside. Garrus tried to follow as quick as he could. Once they were inside, they came across more guards. They took them out. That's when Garrus noticed a forcefield with a body laying inside and rachni around it. Jane must've seen it too because she immediately shot the console to turn it off, shot the rachni, and ran to the body. Garrus heard her cursing and mumbling about being too late. She was kneeling beside the body with her omnitool out, attempting to register medigel. Garrus walked up to her and told her it was too late. She didn't say a word.  
"We need to put some medigel on your wound." Garrus told her as he took out his own omnitool to do it.  
"I'm fine!" She snapped.  
"You are not." Garrus replied calmly. "We need to attend to that wound. If you keep going like this, you'll get yourself killed."  
She finally let him give her the medigel and spoke up.   
"I got the navpoint to their main facility." She said softly, getting to her feet.  
"We'll go but you have to let us help you. No more running off on your own." Garrus replied.  
"Yeah. We're your friends." Wrex said.  
"Fine. Let's go." She said, walking towards the door.   
They had arrived to the navpoint a short while later. Jane drove the mako in silence yet again. This time neither Wrex or Garrus tried to say anything. Garrus wasn't sure what else he could say. He knows he would've been as reckless as she had been if it were him. He wasn't sure what made him try to calm her down when they found the admiral's body. He had noticed that there were no scratches or bite marks on the body, only track marks from needles so he could only guess what they did to him. He blamed Jane's influence on him for trying to get her to see reason, just like she had done to him before. He didn't feel anger or resentment, he actually enjoyed the turian he was becoming under her command.  
They reached the facility and all three of them took out the guards together. Jane still seemed angry but she was more focused than she had been before. Still Garrus missed seeing her smile as she took her shots at enemies, he hoped she could be that way again. They had finally took out every last cerberus agent in the facility and went back to the ship.  
Later on, Jane had come to talk to Garrus in the cargo bay. She told him she wanted to thank him for what he said to her and forcing her to take the medigel. She admitted that even though she stopped Toombs from shooting the cerberus scientist, she had the urge to shoot him herself. She told him when she found out what happened to her squad was all for an experiment, it had made her the angriest she'd ever been. She said it took everything in her to stick with her convictions to have the scientist stand trial and testify against cerberus instead of letting him get shot. That she knew what Toombs needed was to get help. She again thanked Garrus for helping her and making sure she got out alive. He asked her how her arm was and she said it was fine thanks to him then she hugged him. He stood there for a second, stunned. Finally he put his arms around her to hug her back and smiled. Somehow hugging her felt right and good. He was torn from his bliss when she finally pulled away and told him she was going to get some sleep before they got to their next destination. He told her to sleep well and watched her walk towards the elevator. He noticed the motion that her hips swayed and found he couldn't stop looking. His thoughts were a mess. He noticed Wrex was looking but didn't say anything. Damn, the krogan was right he thought.


	14. Old Wounds: Jane's POV

16 year old Jane was eating dinner with her parents. They were all talking about their day when they heard gunshots and screaming.   
"What is that, dad?" Jane asked as her father looked out the window. He didn't say a word and ran to a cabinet, taking out the pistol he kept for protection.   
"Dad, what's-" She started but he just grabbed her arm and ushered her to the kitchen pantry.  
"Get in and take this." He told her, handing over his pistol. "Don't come out until I tell you it's safe."  
"But dad-"   
"Just do as I say. Please Janey." He interrupted her.   
"Okay." She replied. She was scared and confused.  
"We love you." Her mother said kissing her forehead then shutting the door.  
"I love you, too." She whispered softly, not sure if they heard.  
All of the sudden, the front door banged open. Through the crack, she could see a batarian holding a rifle towards her parents who both stood there with their hands up.  
"Please. We don't have much but take whatever you want." She heard her father pleading. The batarian didn't say anything. He just shot him. Jane covered her mouth and shut her eyes. She heard her mother scream then another shot then silence as the batarian left. Jane sat there with her eyes closed, hugging the pistol for what seemed like forever. She finally got the courage to get up. She slowly opened the door and looked around. There she saw her parents laying on the ground, motionless. She ran over to them and kneeled. Tears flowed down her cheeks, then she heard noises from outside. She stood up and grabbed a photo she and her parents took a few days before. She wasn’t sure why but she knew she couldn’t leave it behind. She then ran out the door.  
Next, she was much older and in her alliance uniform. She was driving in a vehicle on Akuze. Her squad was responding to a distress beacon. She was bullshitting with her comrade, Toombs. He was telling her how he couldn’t wait for shore leave. He said he was going to visit his family and asked what her plan was.  
“Some combat training.” She replied.   
“Seriously? That’s all you ever do, Shepard.” He laughed. “You know what? Come with me to visit my family.”  
“I couldn’t do that.” She shook her head.  
“No. You’re my friend and I’m inviting you so you better come.” He said.   
“Fine. I’ll think about-" She started but then they heard a deafening roar and before Jane knew what was happening, she was laying on the ground next to the vehicle which was burning. She looked up and saw a thresher maw attacking. Looking around, she saw most of her squad dead. Some from the crash, others from venom. She could hear Toombs screaming.  
Jane suddenly jolted awake. She was all of sudden in her bed on the Normandy again. Damn dreams, she thought. She noticed her data pad was blinking. She picked it up to see a secured message from the admiral she met on the citadel. It said he found out a group called Cerberus had set up his squad and he was going after them but they were after him as well. It contained the coordinates for a scientific base of theirs. Another message was from Admiral Hackett saying the admiral she had been in contact with had gone missing. Dammit, she thought. She jumped out of bed and found herself going straight to the cargo bay.  
When she got there, she saw that Garrus was up. Still, she asked if she woke him and he said she didn’t. He then asked if something was wrong. She stumbled over her words a bit then admitted that she needed help from him. She asked if he remembered when she told him about what happened on Akuze and when they found that other squad killed by a thresher. He said he did. She then told him about the message from the admiral and that he was missing. He then inquired about the fact that Toombs had said the same group was responsible for what happened to their squad. She admitted to him that she didn’t think it was a coincidence. He then asked her how she was feeling about finding out about Toombs being alive. She then instinctively clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white. She said she felt angry and guilty.   
“I just can’t believe those bastards could do that to people. And for what? Science and experiments? It’s disgusting. I should’ve helped Toombs. I shouldn’t have assumed he was dead.” She told him. She could hear the anger in her own voice.  
“Hey, you couldn’t have known. And from what I hear you were lucky to make it out yourself.” He told her. It sounded like he was trying to be reassuring.  
“I know you’re right.” She said after a moment of silence. She did barely make it out alive and she had to scars, physically and emotionally, to prove it. “I just can’t stand leaving anyone behind.” The dreams she had just minutes before were still vivid in her mind. “Like I said, he gave me the navpoint. Do you think we could go there? I have a bad feeling about all of this.”  
“Of course. Why don’t you go get dressed and I’ll wake up Wrex and we can go immediately.” He told her with no hesitation.   
That’s when she looked down and realized she had come straight down there without even changing out of her pajamas. She felt her face flush with embarrassment and hoped he didn’t notice. She thanked him and went to go get dressed.  
They had arrived to the planet. Jane immediately drove to the navpoint the facility was located at. She saw the turret guns on the building and her bad feelings got worse. She took them out and jumped out of the mako and ran for the building. Inside they came across some rachni. She didn’t even think twice about why they were there, just shot them down. She wasn’t going to let anything get in her way. She reached the last room and took out the Cerberus agents there. She looked around and saw he wasn’t there. She picked up a data pad that showed there were two more facilities in the area. Her anger was building up even more. She ran back out towards the mako without even saying a word to the others.  
She was driving to the next facility when Wrex spoke up inquiring about what was going on and was about to make a pyjack joke when she told him to shut it. He started saying something again then she yelled at him to shut up. She knew he didn’t know exactly what was going on and that she’d probably have to apologize later but at the moment, she was angry and worried about the admiral. He was quiet the rest of the drive. They reached the second facility and again she quickly took out the turrets and guards then quickly ran inside. They ran into thorian thralls this time around. She quickly shot them down but one managed to shoot acid on her arm.  
“Ugh. Dammit!” She gasped while holding her arm. It stung but nothing like thresher acid she thought. She became even more enraged with that thought and continued on. She heard Garrus say something about medigel but she ignored him and pressed on. Again, she reached the last room and took out the remaining Cerberus agents. She looked around frantically but the admiral wasn’t there either. She yelled out her frustration and raced back to the mako. Garrus had again tried to tell her something but she just kept running.  
On the way to the third facility, Garrus told her that they needed to tend to her wound but she told him there was no time before he could even finish speaking. She knew he was trying to help her but all she could think about was finding the admiral. She wasn’t about to let Cerberus kill another alliance officer. She pulled a full stop in front of the facility. She jumped out and took out the guards. Her arm hurt like hell but she gritted her teeth through the pain until the guards were all down. She then ran inside as fast as she could. Inside were even more guards, she wasn’t sure if she could even lift her gun through the pain but she somehow managed and Garrus and Wrex took out any she missed. She saw the admiral’s body inside a force field with rachni surrounding it. She quickly shot the console and took out the rachni. She then dropped her gun and ran to the admiral’s body. She quickly kneeled and took out her omnitool, searching desperately for life signs.   
“No! Dammit. Come on, admiral. I took out those bastards. Maybe some medigel will-" She said, her voice shaking. Then Garrus walked up and put his hand on her shoulder.  
“I’m sorry, Jane. He’s gone.” He told her. She could hear the sympathy and worry in his voice but she couldn’t bring herself to respond. He then told her that he needed to tend to her wound. She told him she was fine even though the pain was getting worse. He calmly said she wasn’t then his voice got firmer and he told her she was going to get herself killed. She could hear the worry in his voice. She finally spoke up and quietly said she got the navpoint for the main facility. She could barely talk without her voice trembling. He told her they’d go but she had to let them help her. Wrex spoke up saying they were her friends. She was glad to hear that but she was still too angry to say anything other than to agree and go. She took one last look at the admiral and noticed it was full of needle marks and no claw or bite wounds. Those bastards are going to pay, she said to herself before leaving with the boys.  
They arrived on the planet where the navpoint led. She drove in silence and the others were quiet too. They reached the facility and Jane made sure they didn’t leave until every last guard was gone. She was still angry but she made sure to stay focused, as she didn’t want to worry Garrus anymore.  
Back on the Normandy, she briefed admiral Hackett on what went down. He thanked her for taking care of it and told her to take care of herself. She agreed and ended the call. She then made her way down to the cargo bay. She really needed to talk to Garrus after what happened.  
“I- I wanted to thank you for your help. And the medigel.” She told him. “I might not have made it out of there if it wasn’t for you.”  
“It’s no problem. I’m sure you would’ve done the same for me.” He replied.  
“Yeah. When I stopped Toombs from shooting that scientist.. well, finding out how and why my squad really died. I just felt rage. I wanted to shoot that scientist myself. I probably would have but I saw how traumatized Toombs was and I knew he needed to get real help. So I stuck with my morals and let the scientist testify against Cerberus. I really hope that was all that was left of them but somehow I doubt it.” She told him.  
“Hey, if we run into anymore of those bastards, we’ll take them down.” He said, smiling. “How’s your arm?”  
“Better, thanks.” She said and then hugged him. She wasn’t sure if it was the way he smiled or what he did for her but she couldn’t hold herself back. She just clung to him and held back tears. After a moment, she felt him hug her back and the embrace made her smile. She felt safe like that. She didn’t want to let go but she came to her senses and pulled away.  
“Well, I- I better get some sleep before the next location. I’ll see you soon.” She smiled.  
“Yeah, uh. Sleep good, Jane.” He replied. She thought he looked a little confused.  
She made her way to the elevator and took one last glance at Garrus before pressing the button. What am I thinking? That was inappropriate but I liked it, she thought. She made her way back to her cabin and grabbed the photo of her family that was sitting next to the gun her father had given her.  
“I miss you guys.” She said quietly to herself while hugging the picture and fell asleep. This time she dreamt of the good times they had together.


	15. Virmire

Garrus was still thinking about the hug he shared with Jane while he was getting ready for their arrival to Virmire. He saw her vulnerable and hurt and still thought she was the strongest female he’s ever known of any species. Hell, she was probably the strongest person he’s ever known, period. He started to think that maybe he should talk to her about how he’s been feeling but it would have to wait until their mission. He knew he needed to focus and didn’t want to distract her in any way.   
They were arriving to the planet’s atmosphere. He, Jane, and Wrex were gearing up when Joker popped up on the comm saying they couldn’t land because of geth AA guns.  
“Can you find a place to drop the mako? We’ll take the guns out from the ground.” Jane told him.  
“Aye, commander. Give those bastards one hell of a surprise.” Joker responded.   
“Ready guys?” Jane asked him and Wrex.   
“Of course. Are you?” Garrus asked. He was still a little concerned after the Cerberus thing.  
“Always.” She replied with a smile, while cocking her sniper. Damn, he thought. She really is quite the woman.  
They got into the mako and waited for it to drop. As soon as it did, Jane told Joker to keep the Normandy at a safe distance. She then did her crazy driving towards the first gatehouse where she joyfully took out the geth. They then jumped out to open the gate for the mako.  
They were driving along when Wrex spoke up.  
“You seem to be doing better, Shepard.”   
“I am, thanks. And sorry about before.” She replied.  
“Don’t mention it. Really. Don’t. I don’t want anyone to know a female human got me to shut up. Not very krogan of me.” He replied.  
“Mention what?” She said coyly.  
“Ha! I like you. You’re alright.”  
They reached the second one and all three of them jumped out. Garrus and Jane sniped out geth from behind the mako while Wrex went up close with his shotgun. Garrus thought everything felt normal again. Jane sniping enemies while smiling, Wrex teasing enemies while killing them. He was enjoying it even if it was dangerous, but hell, danger had a way of finding Jane and he was okay with that as long as he was there to watch her back. After the last geth was down, Jane ran to disable the AA guns and open the gate for the mako. They quickly made their way to the third gatehouse and quickly dispatched geth there. They saw the Normandy heading towards the salarian camp and made their way there.  
Upon arriving, they saw Ashley and Kaidan arguing with a salarian. Jane immediately went over to see what was wrong. The salarian introduced himself as Captain Kirrahe and said he had a plan for when the rest of the cavalry arrived. Jane told him that they were all that was coming. He got angry when she told him the message was a little unclear and they were sent to investigate. He said he lost men to investigating already. He told them Saren was breeding an army of krogan. That’s when Wrex spoke up asking how that was possible. Kirrahe told him that Saren developed a cure for the genophage and that it needed to be destroyed. Wrex understandably disagreed. Kirrahe then said that the krogan were a mistake. Garrus thought saying that was a mistake. That’s when Wrex got in the salarian’s face.  
“We are not a mistake!” Wrex angrily told Kirrahe and stormed off.  
Kirrahe turned to Jane and told her she needed to either calm him or put him down. She looked at him annoyed and told him she’d handle it.  
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Do you need some backup?” Garrus asked, touching Jane’s shoulder. He was concerned for her safety with how angry Wrex was. He ignored the dirty look Kaidan gave him.  
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. I’m just going to go talk to him.” She replied before walking over to Wrex. Garrus saw him angrily shooting his shotgun at nothing in the distance. He was worried about Jane confronting him like that. He wanted to go over with her but he knew he had to trust her to handle herself. He knew she could, he just wanted to be there for her and he hoped no one would have to shoot Wrex. The damn krogan had grown on him. He watched as Jane approached Wrex. He couldn’t hear what they were saying but he could tell Wrex was angry and yelling by his body language. He watched as Jane calmly talked to him then he saw her get right in Wrex’s face. He was about to run over to help when he saw Wrex back down. He couldn’t believe it. He never heard of a human getting in a krogan’s face like that and live through the encounter. She really was amazing. She came back and told them that everything was settled and Wrex was alright. Garrus breathed a sigh of relief. They then went to go talk to Kirrahe.   
“I’m surprised you managed to talk down the krogan.” Kirrahe told Jane.  
“His name is Wrex.” She told him sounding annoyed and folding her arms. “And he’s my friend so I wasn’t worried.”   
“Ahem. Right.” He replied. “So I have a plan. We’ll have my men split into three teams and do a frontal attack while you and a small team infiltrate through the side and plant the bomb.”  
“That seems like a suicide mission on your part.” She replied.  
“I don’t expect all of my men to come back but it needs to be done. I’m sorry but I also need to ask one of your people to lead one of my teams.” He said while looking at Ashley and Kaidan.   
“I’m sorry. What?” Jane looked at him in disbelief.  
“I don’t have enough men left on my own.” He told her.  
“I’ll do it commander.” Ashley spoke up.  
“What? No. I can do it.” Kaidan also spoke up.   
“Calm down, LT. I’m the right one for this job.” Ashley argued with Kaidan. Jane sighed in defeat.  
“Who do you think you need?” Jane asked Kirrahe.  
“Well, both of them seem capable. It’s your choice.”  
Jane looked at both Kaidan and Ashley.   
“Williams. Lead the team. No heroics though. Come back alive.”  
“Aye, commander.” Ashley saluted. Then her expression turned dark for a moment. “It’s been an honor to serve with you. All of you.” She looked at Garrus.  
“Likewise, gunnery chief.” Garrus shook her hand.  
“Remember, come back alive.” Jane reminded her. They all turned to Kirrahe as he gathered everyone and went over the plan.  
Through fighting the geth on the way to the base Garrus noticed Jane disrupt the geth communication relay, destroy their satellite uplink, and destroy their flyers.  
“That should help them a bit.” He heard her say quietly to herself. He could tell she was worried about Ashley.   
They reached the base and Garrus went to the console. He told Jane he could unlock the doors and possibly divert any remaining guards to where the others were. Jane told him to just unlock the doors, that they others had enough to deal with. He figured that’s what she’d do. Once inside they made their way through the guards with relative ease. They found some salarians locked up that seemed like they were going crazy. Upon talking to one, he explained to them that Saren had indoctrinated them using his ship. More mind control, great. Garrus thought to himself. Jane let them out. The one that they talked to left after Jane said they were going to set off a bomb but the others just stood there like they were in a trance. They continued on until they reached a room with guards and doctors, after taking care of them an asari surrendered. She said she was just a scientist and told them more of indoctrination. She said she was pretty sure that Saren himself was indoctrinated and gave them a key card to his personal lab.  
“You should get out of here. We’re going to plant a bomb.” Jane told her.  
“You can’t be- you’re joking?” The asari stammered.  
“Nope. Gonna blow this place sky high.” Jane replied, mimicking an explosion with a hand gesture.  
“You’re not joking. I’ll never get out of here in time!” She said, horrified.  
“You might if you run fast enough.” Jane said, then watched the asari run off.  
“You enjoyed that.” Garrus told her.  
“Maybe.” Jane smirked and Wrex just chuckled.  
They then headed into the room the asari had pointed out and saw another beacon. Jane went over to it and Garrus saw her freeze in place. He went to pull her away but Wrex stopped him.  
Just a few minutes later, Jane turned to them and told them the vision was a warning sent out to the galaxy about the reapers attacking and they slowly wiped out the protheans. She told them she wanted to hurry up and set the bomb so she could warn the council. As they went to leave, a hologram showed up. Garrus commented asking what it was, and Jane turned around. The hologram said it was Sovereign and they realized that it wasn’t a reaper ship. It was a reaper! Jane communicated with it. It stated its distaste for organic life and said it was their destruction. It told them this cycle was upon its destruction. When asked about “this cycle”, it said that the pattern had occurred more times than they could understand and upon each civilization’s peak that they came and destroyed them. It told them that they created the citadel and the mass relays, not the protheans. Garrus couldn’t believe it. When asked why they would do that, it told them so organics would evolve into the path they desired and would end when they demanded. When Jane asked what they wanted of them, it told her that they were beyond her understanding. Jane then asked where the rest of the reapers were, and it said they were coming and organics could not escape their doom. Jane told it that they would stop them, that machines could be broken. It told her that her threats were empty and that their exchange was over. The hologram disappeared and all the glass around them shattered. Garrus instinctively moved to cover Jane from the glass shards. Just then Joker came on the comm to tell them that Sovereign was headed their way. Jane said they needed to hurry up and set the bomb off and they ran to the bomb site.  
Upon reaching the site, they saw Kaidan walk out of the Normandy with the salarian bomb. Just then Ashley came on the comm saying she was pinned down by attacking geth at the AA tower. Kaidan told them to go, that he needed a few minutes to set the bomb anyways. They ran for Ashley’s location. After exiting the elevator, they saw a geth ship head towards the bomb site. Jane radioed Kaidan and he said that geth were dropping all over the place. He told her he was making sure it would go off no matter what and told her to go help Ashley. Ashley came on the comm and told her to go help Kaidan. Garrus saw Jane freeze for a moment and thought he saw her eyes start to water a bit, then she spoke up.  
“I’m sorry Ashley.” He could hear her voice trembling.  
“Don’t be, commander. It was an honor serving under you.” Ashley replied.  
They ran back to the bomb site and immediately took out the geth that had surrounded Kaidan. As they ran towards Kaidan, Saren appeared. He sent a biotic blast that sent all of them flying. Garrus saw Jane dodge a few extra attacks and take cover behind a wall. She immediately started asking him why he was doing this. He told her it was for survival and that as long as he did what sovereign wanted, he was useful. She accused him of being indoctrinated himself. He just told her he preferred that over being extinct and tried to coax her into joining him. She refused him and started shooting at him. He came at her and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her into the air. He’s going to kill her, Garrus thought. He couldn’t get a clear shot of Saren, so he shot at a fuel tank and the explosion caught Saren's attention. Jane took the opportunity to punch him in the face and he dropped her and retreated.  
Just then, the Normandy flew into the area. Jane grabbed Kaidan and they got in. As they were flying away, Joker told them to hold on to something as they put as much distance from the bomb as they could. Garrus saw Jane look out as the bomb went off. He wanted to console her, to reassure her, to be there for her but he didn’t know what to say. After a brief silence, they made their way to the conference room. Once there, Kaidan immediately spoke up.  
“You should’ve saved Ash instead. Why didn’t you take her?” Kaidan confronted Jane. Garrus couldn’t believe it. He saw Jane make this hard decision to save Kaidan and he was blaming her. Garrus was about to say something but Jane spoke up first.   
“I’m sorry but I had to make a choice. And I chose to save you.” She told him.  
Liara then offered to help Jane make more sense of the beacon’s vision. After melding their minds, Liara said that the conduit was on Ilos. Jane dismissed everyone so she could update the council. Garrus once again wanted to try to console Jane about Ashley.  
“I’m sorry, Jane.” He said. It was all he could think of to say. She didn’t look his way or say anything. He took one more glance at her and went on his way.


	16. Virmire: Jane's POV

Jane still couldn’t believe she hugged Garrus like that. She wondered if it was way out of line, but he didn’t push her away. Did the fact that he hugged her back mean he liked her or was he just being kind, she wondered. Just then a knock came at her cabin door, she rushed over thinking it might be Garrus. When she opened the door, it ended up being Kaidan.  
“Oh. Hey Kaidan.” She greeted him. She was happy to see him too. He was always a friendly face.  
“Hey, I um heard what happened with Cerberus.” He said, sounding sympathetic.   
“Yeah. It was horrible.” She replied, rubbing the back of her neck. She told him about everything they found in the facilities and what happened to the admiral.   
“Why didn’t you ask me for help?” He asked her.  
“Well, it was the middle of the night. I didn’t want to wake you. Garrus was already up and he decided to wake up Wrex for it. It was just kind of a time sensitive moment or so I thought.” She told him while looking down at the floor. She could still see the admiral’s body full of needle marks in her mind.  
“Hey. I didn’t mean anything- are you okay?” he asked, putting his hand on her shoulder. Before she could respond, Joker came on the comm saying they were approaching Virmire. She told Kaidan she had to get ready to go and went on her way.  
As she was gearing up, she was still thinking about Garrus but now she was thinking about Kaidan too. She knew it wasn’t a secret that Kaidan liked her and she liked him too. But then she liked Garrus too. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of her feelings. Just then her thoughts were interrupted with Joker announcing he couldn’t land the Normandy because of AA guns on the planet. She told him to drop them in the mako and they’d take care of the guns. She asked her squad if they were ready. Garrus said he was and asked if she was ready. She grabbed her rifle and said she was with a smile.   
Once on the ground, Jane immediately made her way to the first gatehouse. She quickly took out the geth with the mako. They could at least make it a challenge, she thought. She then jumped out and opened the gate for the mako. On their way to the second gatehouse, Wrex commented that she seemed to be doing better. She took this opportunity to apologize to him for taking her anger out on him. He told her to never mention it to anyone that she got him to shut up and she coyly acted oblivious, then shared a smile with Garrus. Wrex said he liked her and she had to admit to herself that he was growing on her too. She had found her perfect crew. Everyone had started feeling like family to her, something she hadn’t known since she was a teenager. The only one missing was Captain Anderson, who had started feeling like a father to her. But then she remembered Garrus saying he was going back to C-sec after their mission was over and a sadness washed over her. She shook it off when she saw the second gatehouse.   
They dispatched the geth and she disabled the AA guns then cleared out the third gatehouse as well. They saw the Normandy head towards the salarian camp and made their way there. Once they got there, she saw Ashley and Kaidan arguing with a salarian.  
“What’s the problem?” She walked up and interrupted them.  
“I’m Captain Kirrahe. I was just explaining that I’ll reveal my plans once the cavalry gets here.” He told her.  
“Well, here we are.” Jane replied, holding her hands up. “The distress message was unclear and we were sent to investigate.”  
“You can't be serious!” He said, sounding none to happy. “I’ve already lost half my men investigating this place. Saren’s breeding an army of krogan!”  
“How is that possible?” Wrex spoke up.  
“He’s developed a cure. And we need to destroy it.” Kirrahe replied.   
“You can’t do that to my people. We need that cure!” Wrex argued.  
“The krogan were a mistake. The genophage rectified that mistake.” He replied.  
“We are not a mistake!” Wrex got in the captain’s face. That’s when Jane got in between them. Before she could say anything, Wrex stormed off.  
“You need to control your krogan or get rid of him.” The captain told Jane.   
“Don’t worry about him.” Jane folded her arms, annoyed. “I’ll talk to him.”   
Garrus grabbed her shoulder and asked if she needed backup. She noticed Kaidan eyeing them. She could tell he looked jealous but she didn’t have time to deal with that at the time. She told Garrus she’d be fine and made her way over to Wrex. She saw him angrily shooting off his shotgun over the distance. Okay, don’t screw this up, she thought to herself as she took a deep breath.   
As she approached him, Wrex started telling her it wasn’t right. That if there’s a cure, they shouldn’t destroy it. She tried to tell him she understood but Saren was the enemy and he was the one he should be angry with. Wrex rebuffed her saying Saren created the cure and she wanted to destroy it, he told her the line between friend and foe was starting to blur. She told him that Saren would use it as a weapon and Wrex wouldn’t be around to reap the benefits. He told her that it was a chance they should be willing to take, then he got in her face saying he’s been loyal so far and she’s done more for him than anyone else but if he was going to keep following her, he needed to know it was for the right reasons. She made sure she didn’t flinch, she had to stand her ground. That’s when he pulled his shotgun out on her, she reacted by pulling out her pistol. She put it back down almost immediately and told him these krogan weren’t his people, that they were slaves of Saren's and asked if that’s what he wanted for them. He told her his people were tools for the council once and he doubted Saren would be as generous. He told her he didn’t like it but he would trust her and put his shotgun down. She thanked him for listening to her and went to let the others know.  
After getting back to the others, they went to talk to Kirrahe. He expressed surprise that Jane was able to talk “the krogan" down. Jane was starting to get really annoyed by his attitude and firmly told him the krogan's name was Wrex and he was her friend. The captain cleared his throat and then told her about his plan to have his own teams to a head on attack to the base so her team to sneak in the plant the bomb. She told him it sounded like a suicide mission for his men and he agreed then told her he needed one of her people to lead one of his teams. She was taken aback and asked if he was serious. He told her he didn’t have enough men left for full teams and needed the assistance. That’s when Ashley stepped up and volunteered. Then Kaidan said he could do it and they started arguing. Jane knew it needed to be done and sighed in defeat, then asked who Kirrahe thought was best for the job. He told her either would be capable enough. She knew that Ashley would be the best choice and turned to her. She told her she would lead a team and not to do any heroics. She wanted her back alive. Ashley saluted her then her expression turned dark. She told her it had been an honor to serve with her then Ashley looked at Garrus and said “all of you", Garrus shook her hand and said the feeling was mutual. Jane thought Ashley had come a long way, remembering their talks about how Ashley didn’t trust aliens and Jane trying to convince her to give them a chance. She reminded Ashley to come back alive and they went to Kirrahe to hear the full plan.   
On the way to the base, Jane went out of her way to disrupt the geth communication relay, destroy the satellite uplink and their flyers. That should help them, she said quietly to herself. She wanted to do everything she could to help Ashley come back alive.   
They reached the outside of the base and Garrus went to the console.   
“Okay. I can unlock the doors from here. I could also divert guards away from us but that would lead them to where Ashley’s team is.” He told her.   
“Just unlock the doors. They’ve got enough trouble. Besides the guards will make good target practice.” She told him.  
“Of course. How about a friendly wager? Let’s see who can kill the most guards. Loser buys winner drinks.” Garrus replied.   
“You’re on, Vakarian.” She agreed with a smile.   
Once inside, they took on the guards with ease and moved further in.  
“Damn Shepard, you almost shot me a few times.” Wrex complained.  
“Shouldn’t have gotten in my way, Wrex. I had some free drinks to win.” Jane replied then smirked at Garrus. It was close but she won the bet. She was looking forward to some downtime with the squad, but especially with Garrus.   
“Fine. But do me a favor, no dancing. You’re terrible at it.” Garrus told her.  
“Alright, wise guy. Just for that, you OWE me a dance.”  
“Ha! I don’t get paid enough credits to cover that much alcohol.” Garrus rebutted.  
“We’ll see.” Jane said quietly, smiling to herself.   
They reached some kind of detention center where they found salarians locked up. Jane thought it must’ve been the missing agents. They all looked out of it except for one. Upon talking to him, he told them that Saren used his ship to indoctrinate them. I’m getting real tired of this indoctrination shit, she thought to herself. She released them from the cages and told them she was going to blow this place up, but the one she talked to was the only salarian to run. They moved on until they got to a lab area where scientists and guards attacked them, they quickly took them out. The asari scientist surrendered, she put her hands up and told them she was unarmed. She told them more about the indoctrination and confessed she thought Saren was indoctrinated himself. She gave Jane a key for Saren’s private area and Jane told her to get out cause she was going to blow the place up. The asari looked at her like she was crazy and asked if she was joking. Jane told her she wasn’t and mimicked an explosion with her hands. The asari looked horrified and said she’d never make it in time and Jane told her she better start running. Garrus chuckled and said she enjoyed that and Jane just told him maybe with a smirk while Wrex just laughed.  
They headed into the next room and saw another beacon, just like the one on eden prime. Jane went over to it and more images came to her previous visions. After the vision, she had to regain her senses again. I’ll never get used to that feeling, she thought.   
“Are you okay?” Garrus asked, sounding concerned.  
“I’m not sure. The beacons were a warning about the reaper attack. Sent throughout the galaxy but they were too late. The reapers still wiped them out. We need to set this bomb and warn the council!” She told them. Just when they were about to leave, a hologram appeared.   
“What is that?” Garrus remarked.  
“Nothing good.” Wrex replied.  
It said it was Sovereign and it was their destruction. That’s when Jane realized it wasn’t a reaper ship, it was a reaper. It was clear it thought very little of organics and told them this cycle was on the brink of its destruction. It told them the protheans weren’t the first cycle they annihilated and the pattern had occurred more times than they could comprehend. It told them that they created the citadel and mass relays so organics would evolve in the path they desired and so they could destroy them when they demanded.  
“What do you want from us?” Jane asked it.  
“We are beyond anything you can understand. We were here long before you and we will exist long after you are eradicated. We give order to the chaos of organics.” It told her.  
“Where are the other reapers? Are you the last of your kind?” Jane asked, confused.  
“They are coming. You cannot escape your demise.”  
“You’re just a machine and machines can be broken.” She told it, firmly.  
“Your threats are empty and this exchange is over.” It told her before disappearing.  
Just then all the glass around them shattered. Jane was crouched down and when she looked up, she saw that Garrus was standing over her in a protective stance. Before she could say anything, Joker came on the comm saying Sovereign was headed her way.  
“We need to go set that bomb. Now!” Jane told the squad and they ran for the bomb site.  
When they got there, they saw the Normandy land and Kaidan walk out with the bomb.  
“Commander, I’m pinned down at the second AA tower. The geth are- damn bastards!” Ashley came on the comm.  
“Go Shepard. I need a few more minutes to set this bomb anyways.” Kaidan told her.  
Jane didn’t waste any time. She ran as fast as she could towards Ashley. They had just came up the elevator when they saw a geth dropship heading towards the bombsite.  
“Kaidan, there’s geth headed towards your location.” Jane radioed him.  
“They're already here. Bastards are all over the place. Just go help Ash, I’m making sure this bomb’s going off no matter what!” He told her.  
“Don’t be crazy. Don’t worry about me, commander. Go help Alenko.” Ashley said over the comm.  
Jane froze. She didn’t want to lose anyone. She didn’t want to make this choice but she knew she had to. She apologized to Ashley trying to hold back tears. Ashley didn’t sound angry or upset and just told her it had been an honor to serve with her.  
They ran back to the bomb site and took out the geth. Jane ran towards Kaidan when a biotic blast hit them and sent them all flying. Jane looked up just in time to see Saren throw more biotics towards her. She managed to dodge them and hid behind a pillar.  
“Why are you doing this?” She asked him.  
“To survive. As long as I do what they want, I’m useful to them.” He told her.  
“You’re crazy. They’ve indoctrinated you too!” She yelled at him.  
“Maybe. It’s better than being dead. You’re more capable than I thought, woman. Join us and you’ll be spared too.” He tried convincing her.  
“Never! I’d rather be dead than a slave!” She replied. She jumped out and started shooting him. He just simply went over to her then grabbed her by the throat and lifted her into the air. She struggled trying to get free then a small blast distracted him so she took the chance to punch him in the face. He then dropped her and fled.   
Just then the Normandy came to their location, Jane picked up an injured Kaidan and they all ran to the Normandy.   
“We have to go help Ashley!” Jane said. “Hang on ash, we’re-"  
“No time commander. Do me a favor and kill that son of a bitch.” Ashley responded. Just then the bomb went off. Jane watched out the window with tears welling up as she saw the explosion.  
In the meeting room, Kaidan went off on Jane. He told her she should’ve saved Ashley. She told him she had to make a choice and she stood by it. She didn’t tell anyone how much that choice was tearing her up inside. Just then Liara offered to try to make more sense of the visions. After they melded, Liara told them the conduit was in Ilos. Jane dismissed everyone so she could contact the council. She stood there for a moment with her back to the door trying to regain her composure. That’s when Garrus told her he was sorry. She couldn’t face him at the moment. She had just sent someone under her command to their death. She just stood there quiet until she heard him leave. The council still didn’t believe her about the reapers. They asked her to come to the citadel and she told them they’d be there the next day.  
Afterwards, she told Joker that no one was to disturb her. She took a bottle of asari alcohol to her room. A couple minutes later, she heard a knock at her door. She opened it to see Garrus holding a bottle of turian whiskey.  
“I’m sorry, Garrus. I want to be alone right now.” She told him softly.  
“Yeah. But you need a friend right now and so do I.” He replied.  
“Alright.” She didn’t have the energy to argue and sat down on her bed. She took a swig of her alcohol. “Did I do the right thing?”  
“Neither decision was right or wrong. It was a hard decision and you went with your gut. You are the most considerate and compassionate person I know. Don’t let this take you down. Use it. Defeat Saren. Make him pay.” He told her, sitting down next to her.  
“Thanks, Garrus.” She replied, then raised her bottle. “To Ashley and her sacrifice.”  
“To good friends who left too soon.” Garrus said, raising his bottle. They then sat in quiet, drinking until she fell asleep.  
Her nightmares came back that night. She saw her family killed in front of her then her squad destroyed by a thresher and the admiral’s dead body at the Cerberus headquarters. She then saw Ashley sitting on a bench in what looked like a forest. She sat down next to her and buried her face in her hands.  
“I’m so sorry, Ash.” She cried.  
“Don’t be, commander.” She touched her shoulder. “You’re the one that saved me on Eden Prime."  
“But then I sent you to your death!”   
“No you didn’t. I volunteered and you did your best. You can’t save everyone.” She consoled her.  
“I should’ve went back for you.”  
“Then you would be dead, too. And the galaxy needs you to stop Saren and Sovereign. Besides I get to be with my dad again.” Ashley smiled. “You taught me so much. I know what a good team is and I even learned to trust aliens.”  
“I’m going to miss you, Ash.” Jane said as she hugged her.


	17. Grounded

Garrus was thinking about the events at Virmire when Joker came on his comm.  
“Hey, Garrus. Can you go check on the commander? She just told me she didn’t want to be disturbed and a crewmember said they saw her heading to her room with a whole bottle of Asari brandy.”  
“But I thought you said she didn’t want to be disturbed?” Garrus asked him.  
“I know what I said. Look I know you care about her and I don’t think being alone is what she needs.” He replied.   
“What are you-" Garrus started.  
“Me and Wrex like to gossip. But that’s not the point. Just please go check on her. Ashley's- it’s really tearing her up and I’m worried.”  
“Alright. I’ll go.” Garrus told him. He still didn’t know what to say to comfort her but he knew he had to try.  
“Thanks, Garrus. You’re not bad, for a turian.”   
Garrus grabbed some of his whiskey and headed towards Jane’s room. Before he got there, Kaidan stopped him.  
“Where are you going?” He asked him.  
“I’m going to go check up on Jane.” Garrus replied.  
“But we were told that she didn’t want to be disturbed. And why are you taking alcohol with you?” Kaidan sounded angry.  
“Look Joker asked me to go check on her.” He told him.  
“He what? You never answered me about the alcohol. Look you better not touch or take advantage-" Kaidan started.  
“I’m going there as a friend cause that’s what she needs. And the whiskey is because Ash's death has taken a hit on me, too. She became friendly with me and Wrex. You would’ve noticed if you thought about anyone but you and decided to pull your head out of your ass once in awhile!” Garrus interrupted him. He was usually calm but he wasn’t in the mood for Kaidan’s accusations and jealousy. Kaidan stood there in silence as Garrus continued to Jane’s room.  
He knocked and when she answered, he could see her eyes were red and her cheeks were wet. He wanted to take away her sadness, but didn’t know how. He still thought her eyes reminded him of emeralds and her spots made him think of stars in the galaxy. She told him she wanted to be left alone. He lifted up his bottle and convinced her that she needed a friend and he did too. She reluctantly agreed then sat on the bed and started drinking. She asked him if she did the right thing and he told her neither choice was right or wrong but it was what needed to be done. He also told her that she was the most compassionate and considerate person he knew. He reminded her not to let this bring her down but to use it and make Saren pay. He still wanted to tell her about his feelings but he thought this wasn’t the time or place for that. He sat down next to her and she thanked him then made a toast to Ashley and her sacrifice. He raised his bottle back and toasted to good friends lost too soon. They sat there drinking and sharing memories about Ashley then he felt something on his shoulder. Jane had fallen asleep on him. He looked at her looking peaceful then touched the top of her head.  
“Don’t shoulder the galaxy’s problems on yourself, Jane. Share your burdens with me, with all of us once in awhile. You don’t need to be so tough on yourself. I’m always here for you." He whispered softly. “You really are an amazing woman, but even you can’t do everything by yourself.”  
He kissed her cheek then laid her down and covered her up before leaving. He and Wrex spent the rest of the night drinking and talking about Ashley. The next morning when they went to the mess hall, they saw Jane and Kaidan.  
“Ugh. Do I have to deal with the council today?” Jane asked with her head on the table. Garrus assumed she was nursing a hangover.  
“How much did you drink, Shepard?” Kaidan asked, eyeing Garrus.  
“I don’t know. I passed out. How much was it, Vakarian?” She looked up at Garrus. She was still in her pajamas and her hair was a mess.   
“Well, you finished your whole bottle of brandy then you tried to drink my whiskey. I had to put it up where you couldn’t reach it because you wouldn’t listen when I told you it would kill you.”  
“You drank the whole bottle? Jesus, Shepard. That asari stuff is strong.” Kaidan said.  
“Ugh! Can we just tell the council to fuck off? They don’t believe me anyways.” She put her head back on the table.  
“We’ll be at the citadel in 20 minutes.” Joker said over the comm. “You might want to look like you didn’t get drunk off your ass last night, commander.”  
“Here. The doctor gave me this to give to you. It’ll get rid of your hangover.” Kaidan gave Jane some medicine.  
“Why didn’t you give this to me earlier?” She snapped.  
“Well, you told me my voice was too loud and my walking and my breathing.” Kaidan laughed.  
“Come on, Shepard. Let’s go get you dressed.” Tali said, grabbing her arm.  
“Ugh. Stupid council. That turian hates me you know.” She groaned, getting up.  
“Nah. He hates all humans, not just you.” Garrus teased.  
“Not helping. And you still owe me a drink!” She yelled from down the corridor. At that moment, Kaidan looked at Garrus.   
“She uh won a bet.” Garrus told him.  
“Yep. Kicked his ass in a shooting contest.” Wrex laughed, as he walked away. “Just let me know if you need me to headbutt that turian.”   
“Hey, about last night…” Kaidan turned to Garrus.  
“Kaidan.” He sighed. “Look. Nothing happened. We talked about Ashley then we drank until Jane passed out then I left. I went there as a friend like I told you I was.”  
“No, I didn’t- I mean. You were right.” He stammered out.  
“What?” Garrus looked at him in surprise.  
“I wasn’t thinking about Shep or her feelings. I was just focused on myself. Then Ashley died and I blamed Shepard for saving me. I didn’t even stop to think how it was affecting her. I’m going to start putting her first.” He told him.  
“Oh. Good for you.” Garrus said as he walked away. Sure he could’ve told him about his own feelings towards her but he didn’t even know how she felt and he didn’t want to start any trouble for Jane. She had enough on her plate the way it was. He decided he would just tell her how he felt after the meeting with the council.   
Jane, Kaidan, and Garrus made their way to the council chambers. Once there, the council announced they were preparing their fleet to protect the citadel. Jane begged them to let her go to Ilos to stop Saren. They told her they didn’t want to incite a war with the Terminus system. Jane told them she could be discreet and the turian councilor reminded her that she blew up a building on Virmire. She adamantly told them that’s where Saren was going and he was going to the conduit to help the reapers. They told her that Saren was playing mind games and making up reapers to put them in chaos and attack the citadel. Then Udina told her he was grounding the Normandy and he’d assist the council. Jane called him a traitorous bastard and pleaded with the council more but they told her that they made their decision and went on their way.  
After returning to the docked Normandy, Garrus decided to look for Jane. He wanted to try to talk to her about what happened and tried to steel his nerves to tell her about his feelings.   
“Hey Tali. Have you seen Jane?” He asked as he walked by her.  
“Sure. I think I saw her walking towards the locker room. Why?” She replied.   
“Oh, uh, I just wanted to talk to her.” He told her and made his way towards the lockers. He had reached the door and could see Jane through the crack in the door. He saw her punch her locker then put her back to it and slowly slump down to the floor, looking defeated. He was about to go in when he saw Kaidan go over to her. Damn, he thought. He’d have to talk to her another time. He didn’t know what he was feeling but he didn’t like the thought of Kaidan being the one to console her. He stood there with his back to the wall for a few minutes trying to put his thoughts together. He wasn’t sure why but he wanted nothing more than for her to be happy and he wanted to be the one to make her feel that way. He wanted to fight beside her and protect her at the same time. He wanted to see her face everyday, the same face that reminded him of the stars in the galaxy. He wanted her to be his galaxy. It was then he realized he didn’t really want to go back to C-sec, he wanted to stay on the Normandy with Jane. His thoughts were interrupted when Jane came flying out of the locker room with Kaidan behind her.  
“C’mon, Garrus. We’re going to Flux.” She said as she ran past him. “Anderson wants to talk and if I know him, he’s got a plan.”  
“Are you kidding? I’m right behind you.” He replied as he ran after her.


	18. Grounded: Jane's POV

Jane slowly opened her eyes and started groaning. She could feel Carnifex licking her and reached over to pet him. Her head felt like someone was hitting it with a rock. She rolled over to see the empty brandy bottle on her nightstand.  
“That’s right.” She muttered, remembering vaguely drinking the night before. She realized she was covered up in her blanket and realized Garrus must’ve done that before leaving. He’s so thoughtful, she thought to herself. She reminded herself that she should thank him as soon as she got rid of the pounding in her head and then there was a knock at the door.  
“Ugh. Come in.” She groaned.  
“Hey, Shep. Want some breakfast before we meet the council?” Kaidan said, peeking through the door. “Wow, you look-" He widened his eyes as he spoke.   
“Like the walking dead? Cause that’s how I feel. And do you need to talk so loud?” Jane groaned as she sat up holding her hand to her temple.  
“Sorry.” Kaidan quieted his voice a little. “So breakfast? It may help.”  
“I doubt it but coffee sounds good. Come on, Carn.” She said as she got out of bed and followed Kaidan out of her room. They ran into Tali on their way to the mess hall.  
“Hey Shepard!” Tali greeted her enthusiastically. “Thank you again for that geth data!”  
“Urgh. No problem, but could you maybe not talk so loud?” Jane told her.  
“She’s kind of hungover.” Kaidan told Tali. “Wanna join us for breakfast?”  
“Sure!” She exclaimed then heard Jane groan and lowered her voice. “Sorry.”  
“Could you guys maybe not walk so loud? Or talk. Or breathe. Why must you do everything so loud?” Jane groaned at them as they headed for the mess hall.  
Once they got to the mess hall and sat down. Kaidan handed Jane a plate of eggs and toast and a mug of coffee. She pushed the food away and drank the coffee. She could hear him and Tali talking but ignored what they were saying and just put her head on the table. She heard Garrus and Wrex come in but her head was pounding too loud for her to even attempt to greet them. She then groaned and complained about having to meet with the council. Kaidan asked her how much she drank the night before but she couldn’t remember so she asked Garrus. He told them that she drank her whole bottle of brandy then tried drinking his turian whiskey. She threw her head back on the table. Shit, no wonder I feel like death she thought. She asked if she could just tell the council to fuck off since they didn’t believe her anyways. She really didn’t want to deal with them telling her she’s crazy again on top of what happened on Virmire. Just then they heard Joker on the comm saying they’d arrive at the citadel within 20 minutes. Kaidan handed her a capsule and said the doctor gave it to him to give her for her hangover. She angrily snapped at him for not giving it to her sooner and he told her she told him to stop talking, walking and even breathing. She quietly chased the capsule down with the remainder of her coffee, vaguely remembering telling him those things. Tali grabbed her arm and told her to come with her to get dressed. She followed along griping about the council being stupid and saying the turian hated her which Garrus yelled that he just hates all humans. She called back that he wasn’t helping and he still owed her a drink.  
“So you and Kaidan, huh?” Tali spoke up while sitting on Jane’s bed as she got changed.  
“Yeah.. I mean, I guess so.” Jane replied, pulling her shirt over her head.  
“You guess? Is there someone else?” She asked, sounding intrigued.  
“Well, no. I don’t know. I don’t think he’s interested in being with, well, a human.” Jane told her, pulling up her pants.  
“Keelah se’lai! Are you interested in a non human, Shepard?”  
“Well, I think so. Maybe. But like I said he probably wouldn’t be interested in me.”   
“Wait. Not human? He?” Tali sounded like she was in deep thought, then squealed. “You like Garrus?!”  
“Um, what?!” Jane looked at her wide eyed.  
“Well, it’s a he and non human. He’d have to be someone you spent time with lately and that leaves only Wrex or Garrus on this ship. Unless it’s not Wrex, is it?”  
“No! He feels more like a big brother!” Jane blurted out, then put her hands over her mouth.   
“So it is Garrus! I knew it.” Tali giggled.  
“Shh. Don’t tell the whole ship!” Jane told her, embarrassingly, then sat on the bed. “I don’t know what to do. I like them both.” Carnifex jumped up and laid down on her lap.  
“Well, it’s obvious Kaidan likes you. Have you talked to Garrus about it?” She asked Jane.  
“Well, it took me awhile to realize I like him and when I thought about telling him, he told me he’s going back to C-sec after we deal with Saren. He seems determined to help people now and I think it’ll be good for him.” She explained while petting Carnifex.  
“He does seem a little less shoot first, ask questions later now than he did when he first came on board.” Tali replied. “You’ve helped so many of us. So what are you going to do?”  
“I don’t know.” Jane replied. “First things first, I need to stop Saren. Then I can focus on-" She was cut off mid-sentence by Joker announcing they were at the citadel.  
“Here we go.” Jane sighed and thanked Tali for the talk. She decided to grab Garrus and Kaidan to go meet the council with her.  
They arrived in the council chambers shortly afterwards and Jane greeted them formally.  
“We have called all available fleets to guard the citadel.” The salarian councilor told them.  
“But Saren's on his way to Ilos.” Jane told them. “We need to go after him before he gets to the conduit!”  
“We cannot risk war with the Terminus System just on your word that these so called reapers are working with Saren.” The asari councilor stated to them.  
“Then let me go! I can be discreet.” Jane pleaded.  
“Just like you were when you blew up a facility on Virmire?” The turian councilor interjected. “It’s obvious Saren is making up these reapers to confuse us and make us vulnerable to an attack.”  
“But I spoke with one of them! I’m not making this up!” Jane spoke with anger.  
“We’re not saying you are but this could be more mind control.” The asari spoke up.  
“I’ll give the council any support you need and I’m grounding the Normandy.” Udina spoke up.  
“You traitorous bastard! You’ll do anything to get on the council!” Jane yelled, lunging toward him but Garrus held her back.  
“That's enough!” The turian raised his voice. “The decision has been made and this meeting is adjourned. We thank you, Udina” Then they all walked out, leaving only Jane, Garrus, and Kaidan standing there.   
Once back on the Normandy, Jane found herself staring at Ashley’s locker. It was her first time looking at it since before Virmire. She thought about the council and getting grounded, then she punched the locker, put her back to it then slowly slid down until she found herself sitting with her back to it. Just then Kaidan walked in.  
“Is this what she died for?” Jane looked up. “So the council could call us liars and let Saren and the reapers win?”  
“She died a soldier. A damn good one. She knew what she was doing, Shep.” He replied.  
“And I failed her.” She replied bleakly, putting her head in her lap. Just then she felt Kaidan grab her hand and pull her up. Then he gently pushed her up against the locker.  
“Kaidan?” She looked up at his face.  
“You haven’t failed anyone. You’ll find a way to stop them. You’re the best damn commander I’ve ever served under.” It seemed like he was about to kiss her when Joker interrupted on the comm.  
“Commander, Captain Anderson wants to meet with you. He said he’d be at Flux.”  
“Of course he does.” Jane sighed while rubbing the back of her neck. “Well, let’s go!” She said as she dashed out of the locker room. She saw Garrus on her way out and asked if he was coming and he replied with saying he was right behind her.


	19. Ilos

Garrus and Kaidan sat at their own table in Flux while Jane met with Captain Anderson. Garrus didn’t know him personally but knew he was a well decorated Alliance officer and that Jane looked up to him and respected him more than anyone else. She had talked about him quite a bit and had nothing but the highest praise for him. She had also mentioned that he was like a father to her. He couldn’t hear what they were talking about but he noticed Jane looked a bit concerned. After awhile he saw her smile then shook his hand and walked over to them. He still couldn’t get rid of the warm feelings he felt when he saw her smile and reminded himself that he was going to tell her how he felt after they took down Saren. C-sec be damned because he knew he’d be happiest traveling among the stars and taking down bad guys with her. His thoughts were interrupted when she spoke up.   
“Let’s get back to the Normandy. It'd be a shame if she took off without us.” She told them.  
“But we’re grounded, commander. She’s not going anywhere.” Kaidan replied, confused.  
“Not for long, it’s not. I’ve never left a job unfinished. Wouldn’t wanna tarnish my reputation now.” She smirked as she sprinted towards the docking bay. Garrus didn’t know what she and Anderson conspired to do but he had a feeling he’d find out soon.  
As soon as they boarded the ship, Jane immediately contacted Joker on the comm.  
“Get ready to take us to Ilos.”   
“I’d love to but we’re grounded- what the hell? Never mind. How do you do that, commander?” Joker replied. Garrus could hear the surprise and joy in his voice and came to the conclusion that the docking clamps were unlocked.  
“Shame on you, Joker. A lady never reveals her secrets. Okay team, time to take down Saren.” She announced then headed to her quarters. Garrus assumed she wanted to prepare herself and as much as he wanted to talk to her, he had already promised himself he’d wait until after they took down Saren.  
A couple hours later they had approached Ilos. Jane was in the cockpit with Joker and Pressly. A few minutes later she had come out and announced they were going to make an emergency drop in the Mako. She called him and Kaidan to accompany her.   
As soon as they dropped down, alive thanks to Joker's piloting skills, they saw Saren only 20 feet in front of them. It looked like something got his attention and he looked behind him and saw them. He looked panicked for a moment then ordered the geth to kill them and went through some metal doors and closed them. Jane immediately took out the geth with the mako’s guns and they jumped out and made a run for the door.  
“Dammit. He overrode the door’s controls. Looks like we’re going the long way.” Jane said in frustration.  
They made their way through the area while taking out drones of geth. Eventually they made their way to a security console, taking cover behind some debris to take out the geth guarding it.  
“You’d think they’d run out of geth eventually.” Kaidan remarked as he used a biotic pull to smash one against a wall.  
“Now what would be the fun in that?” Jane replied while scoping out the last geth. “They make excellent target practice." She then pulled the trigger getting yet another headshot.  
Jane headed towards the console and hacked into it. Garrus swore that if she hadn’t decided to join the military that she would’ve made an excellent and probably unstoppable criminal. It unlocked the archive doors then a distorted hologram popped up and started speaking in a language he didn’t understand.  
“Well, that would be more helpful if we knew what it was saying.” He remarked.  
“You can’t understand it?” Jane looked at him confused. “How come I can?”  
“Maybe that cipher gave you some understanding of prothean language?” Garrus replied back. Hell, he didn’t know how this stuff worked but it made sense. “What did it say?”  
“It’s a warning about the reaper invasion but it must’ve come too late. The rest is just unintelligible static. Let’s get back to the archive doors.” She said before they headed back to the mako. She opened the archive doors then hopped into the mako and started driving.  
“Well, if we’re going to go into a creepy abandoned underground bunker, might as well do it in the mako.” Kaidan remarked.  
“Good thinking. The guns on this thing will come in handy.” Garrus replied.  
“You’re still not driving just so you can use the guns.” Jane teased him.  
“Aww. You never let me use the big guns.” He complained, remembering the last time he asked.  
“That’s because they’re too much fun.” She smirked as they drove down the long tunnel.  
“I guess I’ll have to take your word for it.” He pouted. “I bet Saren laid a trap, it’d be the perfect place for one.”  
“What are those on the walls?” Kaidan asked, as they saw hundreds of what looked like some kind of pods.   
“They were probably stasis pods intended for survival.” Garrus replied.  
A little further down, they came across some geth. Jane immediately gunned them down and laughed saying it was about time they got some action.   
“Do me a favor, Jane. Next time we go on a life or death mission with impossible odds, make sure I get to shoot more enemies?” Garrus exclaimed.  
“Next time?” She asked him, confused. That’s when it occurred to him that he hadn’t told her he wanted to stay aboard the Normandy yet. Before he could reply he heard her swear in surprise and the mako came to an abrupt stop. When he looked forward, he saw a huge force field around the mako.  
“What did I tell you? A trap.” He said.  
“Uh, I don’t think that’s from Saren or the geth.” Kaidan spoke up.   
“Well, might as well take the elevator over there. It’s our only option here. Would be nice if things could go as planned, at least once in awhile.” Jane sighed as they got out of the mako and headed for the elevator.  
They exited into a room and Jane walked towards a platform. A hologram popped up and started saying that they weren’t Prothean or machine and that they were expected. It also talked about the warning beacons.  
“It seems to be a badly damaged VI.” Garrus remarked.  
It replied back saying it didn’t sense indoctrination on any of them unlike Saren, who had also come by recently and said something about there still being hope.   
“How can we understand it? Shouldn't it be speaking Prothean?” Kaidan questioned.   
It said it had been monitoring their communications so it could speak with them and introduced itself as Vigil. It told them that though they were currently safe that nowhere will be for long. Jane questioned it a little and found out more about the facility and it’s creator. Then she asked why it stopped the mako and it told her because the cycle that had gone on for millions of years needed to be broken. It also told her that the citadel was a massive mass relay and a trap, that the reapers come through dark space when it’s activated and destroy all advanced organic life before disappearing again. She asked why the reapers were doing this but it said that no one knew. It explained that Ilos was a secret facility and since there were no records of it, the reapers didn’t know about it. It told them that the scientists eventually went into cryostasis but the power started failing so it started cutting power to non essential crew until eventually only the top scientists were left.  
“How could you just kill them in their sleep?” Jane asked, sounding appalled. Vigil simply responded by saying it was necessary and it was their plan if power failed. It then told them the scientists found a way to disrupt the signals to the keepers on the citadel hence why Sovereign couldn’t signal to have them activate the relay. He then gave Jane a file that would give her full access to the citadel and resources but told her she needed to find the master control terminal to activate it.   
“How do I find that?” She asked it.  
“Follow the one known as Saren. He knows the way. He hasn’t reached the conduit yet, you still have time. Do what we could not.” It told her before signing out.  
“Okay, guys. Back to the mako.” Jane said before turning back to the elevator.  
“All this technology and the reapers still wiped them out.” Kaidan said, sounding amazed and horrified at the same time.  
“Yeah, but we’re not ending up the same way.” Garrus said as he cocked his gun. He may not have had much to live for before but that was before he met Jane.  
They made their way back to the mako and raced through the tunnel. She gunned down geth as they went and even ran a few over. Garrus couldn’t help but smile at her determination and resolve to stop Saren.   
They finally made it to the conduit just in time to see Saren look back and have a glimpse of worry on his face before going through. Garrus thought he’d be worried too if he had someone like Jane after him. She was really a force to be reckoned with.  
“Hold on.” Jane announced as she stomped down on the gas.  
“Wait? We’re not… we don’t even know if it’s safe to go through. We don’t know what will happen.” Kaidan panicked.  
“No time! We’re going to find out the old fashioned way.” She said as they sped through towards the conduit.  
“Um, Jane. You should know that-" Garrus started, intending to tell her about his feelings so he wouldn’t have any regrets if it was the end.  
“Tell me if we survive this, Vakarian.” She interrupted as they went through the conduit.


	20. Ilos: Jane's POV

Jane sat down across from Anderson at a table in Flux. She was about to go off on him for what happened in the council chambers when he spoke up.   
“I can’t believe he lowballed you like that. Bastard only cares about raising himself up.” He said angrily as he hit his fist on the table.  
“You didn’t know about it?” She asked surprised. She had thought that he was in on the decision.  
“No! I would have never agreed to it and I think he knew that. You’re sure about Ilos and the reaper threat?”   
“Yes. Not that it matters since no one believes me.” She told him while balling her hand into a fist.  
“I do. If you say it’s real and not something Saren's making it up, I believe you one hundred percent.” He told her, reassuringly. She looked up and smiled. She was relieved to hear he believed her.  
“Not that it matters now. They grounded my ship and now he’s going to win.” She replied, dejectedly.  
“Like hell he is! I have some ideas on how to get you there.” He told her.  
“Like what?” She asked, curiously.  
“I can go and face the C-sec guards or I can go to Udina's office and take off the docking clamps for you.” He told her with a determined look in his eyes.  
“That’s crazy, Anderson. If they don’t kill you, they’ll court martial you!” Jane objected. She’d already lost too many people close to her, she didn’t want to lose him too.  
“Let me worry about that.” He tried to reassure her. “You need to stop Saren from wiping out the entire galaxy.”  
“Okay.” She replied reluctantly. “Go to Udina's office. No need to go against C-sec.” She knew he was right but she wasn’t about to ask him to go against armed guards.  
“Alright.” Anderson stood up. “Get to the Normandy and have Joker get ready for takeoff. And good luck. If anyone can stop him, it’s you.” He told her with a smile.  
“Thank you.” She got up and shook his hand and put on a smile for show for him. “I won’t let you down, sir.”  
She went over and told Kaidan and Garrus they had to get to the Normandy before it took off. Kaidan seemed confused and mentioned they were grounded, she simply replied it wasn’t for long with a smirk and they made their way to the docks. Once inside, she told Joker on the comm to prepare a course to Ilos. He started objecting that they were docked while in midsentence let out a curse in surprise and asked how she did that. She coyly told him it was her secret, she thought the less people that knew about what she and Anderson planned the better. He told her they’d be there in a few hours and she went to her cabin to rest and prepare herself.  
A few minutes after sitting on her bed and reading her datapad as Carnifex laid by her feet, she heard a knock at her door. When she opened the door, she saw Kaidan standing there and let him in.  
“Kaidan, what’s-" She started asking and got interrupted when she felt something soft on her lips. It took her by surprise and after a moment she realized he was kissing her. It started out tender and sweet as she felt his hands on her waist. She then put her hands on the back of his head and started kissing him back. His kisses started getting more aggressive as she felt his hot breath on hers, she could feel his passion and hunger for her in his kisses and she welcomed it with her own passionate breath into his. She then felt his hands wandering all over her backside as he went to pull off her shirt. He then stopped for a moment to take his own off then brought his lips back to hers with even more intensity than before. He then started making his way to the bed with her without taking his lips or hands off of her. As they approached the bed, he pushed her down onto it and got on top of her. He brought his mouth down the to nape of her neck and she let out a small moan as she felt his mouth and his tongue on her neck moving down to her collarbone. She gripped tightly to his back and let her nails dig in ever so slightly as she shivered in pleasure at his touch. She then felt his mouth continue to move down as he grazed her breast with his mouth as he undid her bra and tossed it onto the floor. He then started massaging her other breast with his hand as she let her moans get louder. She then grabbed onto his hair and gently tugged at it as he moved his mouth down her abdomen to her navel while he kept his hand on her breast. He let go as he slowly took off her pants and panties while tenderly nibbling on her thighs. Unable to hold her lust in anymore, she sat up and gently pushed him onto his back. She then removed his pants and underwear before straddling herself onto him. She gave him a few hot, passionate kisses before speaking up.  
“What are we doing, Kaidan?” She asked breathless.  
“Something I’ve wanted to do for awhile and I hope you have too.” He replied and leaned forward and pulled gently on her hair as he nibbled on her neck. “I care about you, Shepard. Screw the regs.”  
“I do too.” She replied back to him.  
After hearing that, he pushed on her hips just enough so he could insert himself inside her and the moment she felt him, she moaned and moved her hips up and down while putting her hands on his chest for leverage as she lost herself in the moment. After awhile she felt his hand move to the back of her neck as he gripped it and rolled her over so he was leaning over her. She then felt him grip both her wrists with his hand and put them over her head and used his other hand to caress her chest. She could feel him thrusting his hips and felt his hot breath on her neck as he continued pleasuring her with his body. She took all of him in as she let herself forget everything she’d been through and let the ecstasy of his passion and lust take her over.  
A little while later, Jane was getting dressed and realized they’d have to talk about what happened eventually. She knew they would have to discuss if it was a one time thing or if they were going to continue a relationship. But right now they had to focus on getting to the conduit and stopping Saren. Right after she finished getting dressed, Joker came on the comm announcing they’d arrive at Ilos in just a few minutes. She acknowledged him and told Kaidan to suit up then contacted Garrus and told him the same before heading to the armory herself. As soon as she finished putting her armor on and grabbing her rifle and pistol, Joker came on the comm asking her to come to the cockpit. She told Kaidan and Garrus to wait for her and headed towards Joker. Once she got there, he and Pressly were arguing about landing near Saren's location. They told her there wasn’t any safe way to drop them off near him.   
“Can you get close enough to drop the Mako?” She asked him.  
“Are you crazy?” Pressly interjected. “There isn’t enough room for the mako to drop!”  
“I can do it, Commander. But it’s going to be a tight fit.” Joker spoke up.  
“Do it. Get me as close to him as you can.” She told him.  
“Aye, aye.” Joker responded as Pressly just shook his head.  
Jane went to inform the squad of her plan and tell them to get in the mako. Both Kaidan and Garrus seemed a little nervous but followed her orders.  
They made the landing just a small distance from Saren, thanks to Joker. Jane knew he could do it. As soon as Saren saw them, he ran into the doors in front of him and they closed. Jane took out the Geth that stayed behind with the mako and took out the few stragglers with her pistol, then made a run for the doors. Frustrated, she told the others he locked them as she hit them with her fist.  
They went to go look for another way in and eventually found a security console. They quickly took out the geth in the area and she hacked the console, then a distorted looking hologram came on and spoke a warning about the reaper invasion then went into unintelligible static. Garrus said something about wishing they could understand it and Jane surprisingly asked that he couldn’t understand it and asked why she could. He told her maybe the cipher gave her an understanding of prothean language which she thought might have made sense then told them what it said and they decided to move on back to the archives.  
Once they arrived, Jane opened the doors and they all hopped in the mako. Driving through the tunnels, Kaidan made a remark about driving through a creepy tunnel with the mako and Garrus stated there was probably a trap there set up by Saren. Just then Jane spotted some geth and quickly took them down with the mako guns.  
“About time we get some action.” She laughed. Just then Garrus said something about the next time they go on a life or death mission, to make sure he got to shoot more enemies. She questioned him in surprise since he already said he was going back to C-sec after they brought down Saren, just then she spotted some sort of barrier and pushed down on the brakes to avoid a collision. As they got out to inspect the barrier, Garrus mumbled that he knew there’d be a trap but Kaidan remarked that he didn’t think it was from Saren or the geth. Jane just pointed out they should take the elevator since it was their only choice and sighed about wishing things would go right at least once in awhile.  
They exited into a room when a hologram popped up.   
“You are neither Prothean or machine, you are expected.” It said to them. Jane looked at it puzzled when Garrus spoke up that it must be a badly damaged VI.   
“I don’t sense indoctrination on you like the one known as Saren who came by not long ago. There may still be hope.” It replied.  
Kaidan questioned about being able to understand it and it told them that it had been studying their language to be able to communicate. It told them its name was Vigil.  
“Why did you put a barrier in our way?” Jane asked it.  
“We discovered that the cycle has gone on for millions of years and it must be stopped. The reapers created the citadel and it is a massive mass relay and a trap.”  
“What? The Protheans didn’t create it?” Jane asked puzzled.   
It told her that they had not and explained that the facility they were in was secret and had no records so the reapers had no knowledge of it. It then explained that power started failing so it had to start shutting down stasis pods starting with non essential members. Jane was appalled and asked how it could murder its own creators. Vigil explained that it was written in its program to do that in case of power failures. It told them some scientists found a way to disrupt signals to the keepers and that’s why Sovereign couldn’t signal them as before. It then told Jane to download data to regain control of the citadel and told her she needed to get to the main control to activate it. She asked where it was and it told her to follow Saren, that he knew where to find it. It said he had not reached the conduit yet and told her to do what they could not then signed off. Kaidan remarked about how the protheans still got wiped out besides being so advanced and Garrus claimed the same won’t happen to them. Jane admired that about him and thought about how he gave her courage before telling them to get back to the mako.  
They raced through the tunnels and Jane gunned down geth without even thinking about it, she knew she had to stop Saren. They reached the conduit just in time to see Saren look worried right before stepping through.   
“That’s right. I’m coming for your lizard ass.” Jane said to herself before telling the others to hang on before stepping on the gas. Kaidan tried protesting that they didn’t know it was safe and she explained there was no time without even slowing down. When they were almost there, Garrus started saying he needed to tell her something.   
“Tell me if we survive this, Vakarian.” She told him as they went through the conduit. It’s all or nothing now, she thought.


	21. Battle for the Citadel

Garrus opened his eyes just in time to realize they were midair in the mako on the presidium. Holy shit, it worked, he thought right before they crushed a couple geth before rolling into a wall. He crawled out of the wreckage and went around to help Jane out and made sure she was okay.  
“This may be your worst driving yet and that’s saying something.” He remarked as he helped her to her feet.  
“Hey! That wall came out of nowhere. Besides we’re alive and I even took out a few geth which is more than I can say for you.” She replied with a chuckle. “Is everyone okay?”  
“I’ll be sore in the morning, but I’m alive. I think.” Kaidan replied.  
“Alright. Let’s get to that main control.” She said, grabbing her sniper.  
They made their way towards the elevator when at least two dozen husks were dropped.  
“You’ve gotta be kidding me. I hate these guys.” He heard Jane mutter as she took out her pistol and started shooting. Garrus stayed back a distance and sniped at them as Jane and Kaidan went towards the horde.  
“8, by my count I win.” Garrus yelled as he sniped the last one in view. Just then he heard 2 squishy sounding pops behind him and looked up to see Jane holding her pistol.  
“9. Ha! I win again, Vakarian.” She said as she blew on the end of her gun. “This has got to be getting embarrassing for you.”   
“Seriously, you guys? I don’t think this is the time for this.” Kaidan scolded them.  
“What? There’s nothing wrong with a little friendly competition. Not that there’s much of it.” Jane smiled. Garrus just stood there thinking if anyone could beat him, it was her. Oddly, it didn’t bother him though. And he thought for a moment that time didn’t seem to move as they smiled at each other.  
“Guys!” Kaidan yelled from a short distance.  
“Right.. let’s go guys.” Jane just slightly shook her head as they ran to catch up to him. They approached the nearest Avina when she started saying they needed to evacuate the Presidium. As Jane spoke to her, she informed them that Saren was approaching the council chambers and C-sec was currently unable to respond to the threat. She also informed them that there were a lot of geth on the citadel which didn’t surprise Garrus at all. Jane asked about the council members and Avina told them that they were evacuated to the Destiny Ascension along with nearly 10,000 citizens per emergency protocol.   
“What about Caption Anderson and councilor Udina?” Jane asked in a panic.  
“I am unable to find the location of individuals.” Avina simply replied.  
“Oh.” Jane said, dejectedly.  
“I’m sure Anderson is fine. He seems like a very resourceful and capable person.” Garrus said as he gently patted her shoulder hoping to console her. She shot him a smile that he thought looked forced and said they better get on their way. They then got into the elevator to make their way to the chambers. A little ways up, the elevator shook and then abruptly stopped. Jane went up to the glass and glanced around.  
“Suit up, we’re going outside.” She told them.  
“What? Are you-" Garrus started then got interrupted by Jane shooting the glass.   
“Damn. These repairs are gonna be expensive.” She said before stepping out. They walked along the outer part of the elevator and kept going towards the chamber. Every so often they had to take out groups of geth in their way. Well, this isn’t so bad, he thought just when they turned a corner and he heard Jane yell out.  
“Fuck! Geth turret!” She cursed out and she dodged to get behind cover. After a few moments of silence, Garrus peeked around to notice it wasn’t firing.   
“I think it’s inactive, Shepard.” He laughed at her.  
“Well, shit. How the hell was I supposed to know that. Do you have any idea how many of those things have shot at me in the past?” She said as she looked for herself.  
“Yeah. I have a pretty good idea considering I was with you those times.” He chuckled.   
“Laugh it up, Barney.” She snapped at him.  
“Barney?”   
“He’s a purple dinosaur on a vid for kids.” She told him.   
“What?” He looked at her confused.  
“Just- ugh nevermind. Let’s go.” She threw her hands up in defeat. Just as they went out into the open, a geth dropship appeared and unleashed geth onto them.  
“Dammit!” He heard Jane yelled and saw her running for the turret console. He didn’t even have to ask and just shot at geth to cover her as she went to the console and activated it. The turrets turned onto the dropship and it retreated after taking significant damage while they took out the ground troops. Then they made their way into the next area where they encountered 2 krogans. Well, I guess we didn’t kill them all back on Virmire, Garrus thought to himself. They took them out and continued on. They reached another open area when they were shot upon by active turrets and immediately ran for cover.  
“Fuck! Why is it always this arm?!” He heard Jane cuss next to him and when he looked he saw that she had been hit by a turret. He immediately took some medigel and applied it to her arm. She muttered a thank you and turned to look towards the battlefield.   
“Okay. Garrus help Kaidan with that turret and I’ll take out this one.” She ordered him.  
“But Shep-" He tried arguing.  
“I’ll be fine! My arm is a little sore but it’s good now, so go!” She barked at him before tumbling through to a different area of cover. Garrus made his way to Kaidan and told him the plan.   
“What about Shepard? What happened?” He asked Garrus.  
“She took a hit to the arm but I gave her some medigel and she’s okay.” He told her.  
“Good. If anything ever happened to her, I don’t know what I would- I’m glad she’s okay.” Kaidan said before using his warp biotic ability on the turret. Same here, Garrus thought before shooting the turret down. When he looked over towards Jane, he saw her using overload to stun the turret before sniping it out. After a moment of catching their breath they continued on their way.   
They finally made their way into the chambers where they encountered several geth.  
“Seriously? I’m tired of all these goddamn geth!” Jane complained as she started opening fire on them. Garrus made a mental note to himself to never get on her bad side before joining the fight. After they took out the last geth, they ran towards the controls and saw Saren punching some buttons then he jumped onto his flying platform and threw a grenade towards them. They all jumped in separate directions to avoid the blast when Saren started talking to Jane.  
He told her he was worried that she wouldn’t make it in time to witness him help Sovereign take control of the citadel and bring the reapers back. Jane just continued to try to convince him that he didn’t need to do this and they could still find a way to stop the invasion when he told her that he had been implanted and completely was committed to the reaper cause. He then admitted that he couldn’t stop thinking about what she said on Virmire and Sovereign sensed his hesitation so it put the implant in him. He once again tried to tell Jane that the reapers couldn’t be stopped and she simply just told him to fight his implants and there was still time. She told him she wasn’t giving up and he shouldn’t either. He simply told her it was too late and with a sad look in his eyes, put his pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. Jane tried calling out but it was too late and his body fell into a pit down below them. After a brief moment, Jane made her way to the console and used her omnitool to upload the data from vigil to gain control.  
“Hurry up and open the arms.” Kaidan told her.  
“Wait!” Garrus interjected. “Open a comm channel and see how our people are doing.”  
As soon as she opened the channel, they got a mayday from the destiny Ascension saying their shields were failing and their engines were offline and they had the council aboard. Then they heard Joker cut in and he asked if he was contacting Jane. Once she replied to him, he told her they were with the Arcturus fleet and they could save the council ship if she opened the relays to the citadel.  
Kaidan remarked they should save the council but Garrus told her they should help her own people because the council wouldn’t do anything to help humanity and they didn’t take her seriously this whole time. Kaidan argued that it was bigger than humanity and the reapers were a threat to the whole galaxy which led Garrus to say that was why saving the council would be a waste of resources. Jane told Garrus that they had to show they weren’t just worried about themselves then told Joker to save the council. After a few moments, joker announced that the Destiny was all clear and Jane opened the arms to the citadel when they heard Admiral Hackett order the fleet to focus all their power on Sovereign. Jane told him and Kaidan to make sure Saren was down, so they jumped down and Garrus walked to his body and popped two shots into him to be sure while Kaidan radioed Jane that he was dead. Just then, they saw red lightning all around them as the building shook. Looking over, Garrus saw the lightning infuse inside Saren’s body just before a large blast sent him and Kaidan flying. When he regained his brief loss of consciousness, he saw Jane laying in the pit with them among some rubble. His adrenaline kicked in as he got up and rushed over to help her up, then he saw that Saren’s body was just a metal skeleton as it started unleashing attacks on them. He helped Jane to cover and they started fighting back. After a few moments that seemed like eternity, he used a concussive shot to break it’s shield and Jane took the opportunity to snipe it’s head resulting in it exploding and they watched the rest of its body turn to dust. They had just all climbed out of the pit when they looked out the window to see a gigantic piece of what look like part of Sovereign come flying towards them. Jane ordered them to run and they all ran to escape the impact. Just seconds later, Garrus felt the impact as everything turned dark.


	22. Battle for the Citadel: Jane's POV

Jane kept her foot on the gas pedal as they sped through the conduit and straight into the presidium. Holy shit, it worked she thought to herself right before she landed on two geth and rolled straight into a wall. She opened her eyes as she felt something pulling on her arm and saw Garrus was attempting to get her out of the wreckage. As he was looking her over, she noticed Kaidan had gotten himself out already. She was pondering her conflicted feelings between the two men when she was interrupted by Garrus teasing her about crashing the mako. She retorted by joking about the wall coming out of nowhere and pointed out they were alive and she was the one that took out the geth in their way. She then asked if everyone was alright and after they answered, suggested they get the mission done.  
They didn’t get far before a horde of husks were dropped before them. Jane muttered that she hated them, pulled out her pistol, and ran towards them shooting. She noticed Kaidan was running too and concluded that Garrus was staying back with his rifle for long range. She shot them down one after another when she saw a bullet go through the one in front of her and heard Garrus celebrating that he won with his eighth kill. Damn, I only got seven she thought as she turned around and saw two more right behind Garrus. She thought he must’ve been too busy boasting to notice them and her instinct to protect him kicked in as she shot each one through the head once. In order to conceal her concern she pointed out the two put her in the lead and teased him about her win as she blew on the tip of her pistol with a smile. Kaidan interjected that it wasn’t the time for that. She thought she heard a hint of jealousy in his voice but she just replied there was nothing wrong with a little competition and added a snark about there not being much of one while still smiling. She noticed Garrus just smiled back instead of defending himself against the lost. She felt herself getting lost in his smile when she was interrupted by Kaidan yelling for them from a distance. She jolted herself from her thoughts and they ran to catch up with Kaidan.   
Jane overheard the Avina telling them they needed to evacuate the presidium and approached it.  
“Where is everyone?” She asked it.  
“There is one life sign approaching the council chambers but C-Sec is unable to respond to the threat with all the geth on the citadel.” It informed her.  
“That has to be Saren.” Garrus said.  
“Right.” Jane agreed before turning back to the Avina. “Where are the council members?”  
“The council were evacuated to the ship Destiny Ascension along with ten thousand citizens as per emergency protocols.”  
She then asked it about Anderson and Udina but it informed her that it couldn’t track the location of individuals. Jane felt her heart sink at the thought of not knowing if Anderson was alive or not. Garrus must’ve sensed her dismay she thought as she felt something on her shoulder and noticed he put her hand there and tried consoling her that he was sure he was okay since he was a resourceful person. She knew he was a hell of a soldier that taught her almost everything she knew. Still worried, she forced out a smile for Garrus and suggested they get going. Once they finally made it to the elevator, Jane pressed the button to the chambers and they started moving. Not even halfway up, she felt the elevator shake then stop. She looked out the glass window and sighed. It never ends, she thought before telling the guys to suit up because they were going outside while putting on her helmet. Once she saw them put theirs on, she pulled out her pistol. She heard Garrus start to object as she shot the glass. She made a joke about repairs before stepping out and they made their way towards the chambers.  
They came across small groups of geth along the way that they dispatched with ease. Well, this is easier than I thought it would be, Jane thought just as she turned a corner and saw a geth turret. She cursed out and rolled to get back behind the wall. After a few moments of silence, she saw Garrus looked around the corner and immediately tease her that they were inactive. Her cheeks grew red as she realized how ridiculous she must’ve looked and argued that she didn’t know and remarked that she had been shot at by a lot of turrets recently. Garrus just laughed that he knew that because he was with her those times. She made a Barney joke in attempt to call him a dinosaur but he just looked at her questionably and she realized he had no idea what she was talking about, so she threw her arms up in defeat as she realized the joke was wasted and told them to keep going. As soon as they got halfways through the area, a dropship dropped dozens of geth upon them. Jane swore in frustration then remembered the turrets were inactive and ran towards the console so she could hack them. She realized all the geth going after her were being shot down, she looked back and saw Garrus covering her back as always. She let a smile come to her face as she reached the console thanks to him. She ducked behind it and used her omnitool to hack into it. As the turrets turned on the dropship, she took out her sniper and focused on the ground troops. After a few minutes, she saw the dropship retreat after being heavily damaged and focused on taking out the rest of the geth. Wrex is going to be so pissed I didn’t bring him along, she thought as they continued on. They took out a couple krogan in the next area and kept running until they reached the next open area when Jane felt a sharp pain in her left arm. She looked and saw turrets firing on them and ran back for cover. She swore while she held her arm and muttered it was always the same arm while remembering when she got hit by the rachni on that same arm when they took down the Cerberus facilities. Before she had time to react, Garrus had already started to apply medigel to her wound. He must be doing it before I have time to reject his help this time, Jane thought. She remembered him chasing after her the last time, desperately trying to get her wound treated and she felt a little guilty so she muttered out a thanks and turned to look at the open area. She informed Garrus to go help Kaidan and when he started to object, she told him she was fine. She then noticed she had reflexively put her hand on his but quickly pulled away and told him to go before heading out and rolling into different cover. She glanced back to make sure Garrus had done as she said then focused on the turret in front of her. She then used her overload ability to stun it, followed by a couple sniper shots which ended in it exploding. She turned to see that Garrus and Kaidan had already taken care of theirs. She took a moment to catch her breath and gather her thoughts. It was then she decided she was going to talk to Garrus about her conflicted feelings after they took down Saren. With her new resolve, she told them it was time to move on.  
Once they reached the chambers, there were quite a few more geth in their way. Jane yelled out that she was sick of all the geth, then she alternated between her overload and shooting them with her pistol in a fit of angry fury. She heard Kaidan and Garrus join in but she didn’t bother to count her kills this time. Can I just fucking get to Saren and put an end to this already, she thought to herself after the last geth had fallen. She took a moment to catch her breath and regain her composure before running towards the control console. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Saren at the console, pressing some buttons. He turned around then jumped down towards the pit, then came back into view on his flying platform and threw a grenade towards them. Jane leapt to the side to avoid the blast, then heard Saren speak up while her ears were ringing.  
“I was afraid you wouldn’t be here in time to witness me help Sovereign take back the citadel and bring the reapers back.” He said, arrogantly.  
“Stop this, Saren!” Jane yelled, pointing her pistol at him. “It’s not too late. We can still stop this all from happening.”  
“Heh. I’m completely committed to the reaper cause now. I’ve been implanted.” He said, as he pointed to his head.  
“What? Are you crazy or just dumb?” She asked with her mouth wide open.  
“Oh. I did listen to your words back on Virmire. Sovereign sensed my hesitation and had me implanted.” He replied. “You see the reapers can’t be stopped. There is still time to save yourself and join us.”  
“No. I will die stopping them before I help them destroy all the species in this galaxy! There’s still time. Fight your implants! I’m not giving up this fight and you don’t need to either.” Jane argued.  
“If only I had someone like you before I found Sovereign.” Saren said with a sigh. “But I’m afraid it’s too late.” He pointed his pistol at his own head.  
“No! Wait!” Jane called out to him and lunged toward him but he had already pulled the trigger. Jane looked just in time to see his body fall in the pit below them. She felt something wet on her face and touched her hand to it, when she looked at her hand she saw blue liquid and realized some of his blood had splattered on her. Dammit, why didn’t you let me help you? She thought to herself. After a brief moment, she shook her head and made her way to the console. She pulled out her omnitool and used Vigil's data to regain control in the citadel. Kaidan told her to open the arms of the citadel when Garrus told her to open a comm channel and see how the fleets were doing. She decided to go with Garrus’s idea and as soon as she opened the channel, she heard a mayday.  
“This is the Destiny Ascension. We need help! Our shields are failing, our engines are offline, and we have the council aboard.” The voice on the comm sounded panicked.  
“Hello? Please tell me this is Commander Shepard.” Jane recognized Joker's voice on the comm.  
“It’s me, Joker. Are you okay?” Jane replied to him. She was happy to hear his voice.  
“We’re all fine here. Thanks to the best pilot in the whole damn galaxy.” Joker boasted. “We’re here with the Arcturus Fleet and we can save the Ascension if you open the relays.”  
“We need to save them!” Kaidan cut in.  
“Screw that. We should protect our fleets. Besides they wouldn’t do anything to help your people, Shepard. They wouldn’t even listen to you about the reapers and look where that got us.” Garrus interjected.  
“This is bigger than just humanity. The reapers are a threat to the whole galaxy.” Kaidan argued.  
“Exactly my point. We shouldn’t waste any resources.” Garrus argued back.  
“No. We have to show them we’re not just worried about ourselves." Jane told Garrus then went back to Joker's comm channel. “Save the Destiny, Joker.” She said as she opened the relays for them.  
“Aye aye.” She heard him reply. After a few moments of silence, he came back on the comm. “Alright, commander, they’re in the clear.” After hearing the confirmation, Jane opened the arms and heard a familiar voice.  
“Alright everyone, focus all fire power on Sovereign.” Admiral Hackett announced.  
“Go make sure Saren is… dead.” Jane reluctantly ordered her squad. She didn’t want to take any chances.  
After they jumped down, Jane heard a couple shots then heard Kaidan confirm he was down on the comm. Just then Jane saw red lightning light up the whole area.  
“What the fuck? What now?” She said quietly to herself, looking around. She noticed it was focusing in the pit where she had sent Garrus and Kaidan. Just as she went to tell them to get out of there, she heard an explosion and felt the ground under her crumble as she fell. Her whole body ached as she found herself in the pit under some rumble, when she saw Garrus move a large piece off of her and help her up. It was this moment she realized he never hesitated to come to her rescue whether she absolutely needed it or not, and she knew she’d do the absolute same for him. She looked around and saw what used to be Saren’s body was now a metal skeleton as it started throwing attacks at them. They ran to cover and she pulled out her sniper to fight back. They all threw their attacks and ammo at it, until it looked like it was finished. Then a surge of power hit it and it’s shields were back up. Fuck. Just give me a goddamned break here, would ya? Jane thought as she got ready to keep fighting. She thought if she died here, at least she was with people she cared about and she gave the galaxy a fighting chance. Just then, Garrus used his concussive shots to weaken it’s shields and she carefully landed two sniper shots to its skull, resulting in its head exploding. After a moment, they saw the rest of its body turn to dust. Exhausted, Jane took the rest of her energy to climb out of the pit with the others. It’s finally over, she thought as she looked out the window in time to see a large piece of metal that looked like part of Sovereign flying towards them. Shit, you gotta be kidding me, she thought.   
“RUN!” She hollered to the others as they all ran to avoid the collision. She felt the heat of an explosion on her back and pain all over her body. I never got the chance to tell Garrus that-. Jane’s thoughts were interrupted by everything turning black.


	23. Aftermath

Garrus regained consciousness just as he saw two alliance soldiers clearing rubble off of him. Damn, I’m alive, he thought as he let one of the soldiers help him to his feet. He looked around and saw a couple more soldiers helping Kaidan out of some more rubble. Just then he saw Anderson run towards him.  
“You’re alive! Shepard is going to be so-" Garrus started when he stopped midsentence to look around. He couldn’t see her anywhere. No. Spirits, it cant be. Not her. He thought, panicking.   
“Where is Commander Shepard, soldier?” Anderson asked him. Garrus couldn’t speak. He just looked in the direction they all ran from and all they could see was rubble everywhere. He saw Anderson’s face fall with a sadness and imagined his probably looked the same as he felt his heart sink. Just then, they heard the sound of rocks moving and looked in time to see Jane walking over the rubble. She was holding her left arm and limping but she was alive. Garrus ignored all the pain he felt throughout his body and limp ran towards her. He was damned if he was going to let a little pain stop him from helping her. He got to her just in time as she fell into his arms. Anderson came and put her left arm over his shoulder just before Garrus almost fell over himself. Anderson then called his men over.  
“You grab her other arm. And you two help Vakarian here.” Anderson hurriedly barked orders.  
“No. I can help you.” Garrus tried arguing.  
“No. You all three need medical attention. You did good, soldier. Thank you for keeping her safe.” Anderson said sternly but Garrus could hear the gratitude in his voice also. He gave her hand a light squeeze as he let the other soldier take her arm and put it over his soldier. Garrus then let the other soldiers help him but he kept his eyes on Jane the whole time until they were taken to separate rooms in the hospital.   
It took a whole day before Garrus could convince the doctors to let him leave his room. Lucky for them some of the citadel had survived intact. He purchased some flowers and a varren stuffed animal from the gift shop for Jane. He remembered that Joker had told him that the red flowers called roses were a popular earth tradition for showing interest in someone for courtship. He was going to stand by his promise to himself and tell Jane how he felt. He was nervous as all hell but he steeled his resolve as he made his way towards Jane’s room. When he saw Tali, Liara, Joker, and Wrex outside her room.  
“How’s she doing?” He asked as he approached them.  
“Better. They were able to patch her up pretty well. A few broken bones, some fractured ribs and a concussion but they told us she’ll make a full recovery. She’s in and out if conciousness but rest is the best thing for her now.” Liara informed him.  
“Bet she'll recover faster now that Carn is in there with her.” He heard Wrex speak up.  
“Wait. How did you-?” Garrus started asking confused.  
“Shepard ain’t the only one with persuasion skills.” Wrex laughed.  
“He kept bringing him in until they finally gave up on kicking them both out.” Liara said.  
“Heh. Heh. It worked!” Wrex chuckled with a smile.  
“Hey, are those for Shepard?” Tali asked looking at the gifts in his hands.  
“Yeah. I wanted to-" Garrus started then he saw Kaidan in Jane’s room holding her hand as he kissed her on the forehead. “What’s up with them?”  
“Oh. I think they finally got together.” Tali said.  
“Uh oh.” Joker mumbled.  
“Kaidan went straight to her room after they let him out of bed and hasn’t left since.” Liara chimed in.  
Garrus felt his heart sink and his hands went down to his sides. He wanted to go in there and tear Kaidan off of her and confess his feelings but he just felt foolish. How could I ever think a turian like me could get a girl like her? He thought dejectedly.  
“Uh. Just tell her these are from all of us from C-Sec. And that we hope she feels better soon.” He said as he hurriedly put the roses and stuffed varren in Tali's arms and walked away feeling defeated.  
“Hey. Turian, stop!” He heard Wrex holler after him.  
“Garrus…” He briefly heard Joker say but he kept walking.   
Damn, he beat me to it. I shouldn’t have waited so long but I didn’t want to distract her from the mission. Damn that Kaidan. Garrus thought as he made his way to C-Sec.   
After a couple weeks, he heard Jane had fully recovered and was saying goodbyes to everyone before heading out on her next mission. He also heard she requested that Anderson become the human councilor. He made sure he was out on patrols constantly until she left. He couldn’t face her knowing she was with Kaidan. He heard she was looking for more signs of the reapers and feared she would ask him to join her. He knew he’d accept in a heartbeat but he just couldn’t do it. Not while she was with him.  
“There you are.” He heard a familiar voice and his heart stopped. He turned around and saw Jane with her hand on her hips. “You’re a hard turian to track down.”  
“Oh, hi Shepard.” He greeted her.  
“Shepard? What happened to Jane, Garrus?” She questioned him.  
“I’m on duty and you’re a commander and a hero. Need to be professional.” He replied trying to sound unemotional.  
“So you did go back? How is it?” She asked with what looked like a sad look in her eyes.  
“It’s great. Better than ever.” He lied. He hated it more than ever. Damn those eyes and those spots on your face. Why do I always get lost looking at you? He thought to himself.  
“That’s uh great. I’m happy for you.” She said with a smile. Damn that smile. Stop smiling at me. His thoughts were getting the better of him.  
“Yea.” He mumbled out.  
“I missed you these last few weeks. You helped me out of the rubble and didn’t even come visit.” She confronted him.  
“Yeah well I figured you could use the rest and I was recovering myself plus there was a lot to do at work with all the damage. Sorry.” He hung his head. She made him feel guilty but he just couldn’t bring himself to go see her.  
“I wanted to thank you for the flowers and the stuffed animal.” She said, lifting his head.  
“Oh, yeah.” He cleared his throat. “It was from all of us at C-Sec.”  
“That’s what Tali said. Well I already said goodbye to her and Wrex and wanted to see you before I left.” She informed him. “Tali decided it was time for her pilgrimage to end and Wrex wants to try and fix things on Tuchanka.”  
“Oh. So it’s just you and Kaidan?” He asked even though he didn’t want to know the answer.  
“Well, I guess. Also Joker, Pressly, Adams and the rest of the crew.”  
“Okay well it was a pleasure working with you.” Garrus spoke as professionally as he could as he held out his hand to shake hers.  
“Yeah. Don’t be a stranger, Vakarian.” She said looking a little hurt but shook his hand.   
“Sure.” He said as he turned to walk away. A moment later he turned around to see her walking in the opposite direction. “Goodbye, Jane.” He whispered to himself.”  
A few months had passed and Garrus was in the office when an officer came running in and told them all that the Normandy was destroyed and only some of the crew had made it out safely. He then looked at them all solemnly and informed them that Commander Jane Shepard had been pronounced dead. Garrus couldn’t breathe. He told his captain he needed to take off early and clocked out. He went straight to his apartment and fell to his knees.  
“Why, Jane? Why did it have to be you?” He spoke to himself as his picked up his padd and looked through his emails. “You tried contacting me so many times since you left and I didn’t even have the guts to answer back. I’ve been miserable since you left but at least you were alive.” He went over to his nightstand and grabbed the photo he had taken with the Normandy crew. “First Ashley and now you. I’m fucking sick of losing people.”   
He heard a ping from his padd and opened it to see a message from Joker saying he was sorry and to message him whenever he needed something.  
Right then Garrus realized he needed to get out of there. He knew he wasn’t making a difference with C-Sec and now he had no reason to stay. He didn’t even feel like he had a reason to live and he set off to find a place with impossible odds where he might make a difference. He decided to head off to Omega and left.


	24. Aftermath: Jane's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane spends her recovery in the hospital with visits from all her friends, except Garrus. She questions him about it and is suspicious about his excuses. Then on a mission in supposed geth space, tragedy strikes...

Jane coughed as she removed some rubble and started to stand herself up. She tried to use her left arm for leverage but the pain made her fall back down.  
“Ugh, dammit. Seriously, why is it always this arm?” She said to herself as she used her other arm to stand back up. She climbed through the rubble as best she could while holding her arm. Where is Garrus? Oh god, don’t tell me he didn’t make it, she thought as she made her way through looking for any signs of her squadmates. As she made her way through more rubble, she could make out shapes of people in the distance. She couldn’t tell who they were but she hoped Garrus and Kaidan were among them. She limped her way towards them when she noticed one sort of limp/jogging towards her. As it got closer, she noticed it was Garrus. Thank god he made it, she thought as she kept making her way forward. It was then she noticed Captain Anderson right behind him. Thank god or whoever is out there, she thought as she felt her body finally give up as she started to fall. But she didn’t feel the cold, hard ground. Instead she felt something holding her up, when she looked up and saw that Garrus had caught her. She could see he was battered and bleeding himself but he still came to her rescue. She smiled as she felt her consciousness fading as she finally let herself rest her eyes.  
When she opened her eyes again, she was in an unfamiliar brightly lit room. Looking around, she realized it was a hospital room. So I survived, she thought. She felt something against her leg and leaned up a little bit to see Carnifex laying next to her.  
“How did you get here, Carn?” She asked as she patted his head.  
“It took some work but they couldn’t say no.” She heard Wrex reply. She looked up and saw him and Joker both standing by her bed.  
“He means he didn’t give them a choice. He tried smuggling him in a few times but kept getting caught. The last time he came charging in with Carn in his arms shouting ‘THE HERO OF THE CITADEL NEEDS HER VARREN! FIGHT ME!’ Half of the staff gave up due to exhaustion and I’m pretty sure he scared the rest half to death.” Joker laughed as he held his hands up mimicking Wrex's actions.  
“Sounds just like you, Wrex.” Jane smiled then looked down at Carn. “And I’m glad he did. I bet you missed me boy. I missed you.” She rubbed his head in a playful manner and he just replied with his tongue hanging out before rolling over so she could rub his belly. “Where is everyone else?”  
“Well they’re only letting in a few of us at a time. Regulation, apparently. Tali and Liara are waiting to come in after us. Captain Anderson said he’ll stop by later and Wrex uh convinced Kaidan to get coffee or something in order to let us in.” He said while giving Wrex a look.  
“What? I just asked to see Shepard.” Wrex replied while shrugging his shoulders.  
“Did I miss something? Wrex asked someone to do something?” Jane asked with a curious look. She knew that didn’t sound like him at all.  
“More or less." Wrex chuckled.  
“He threatened to headbutt him when he initially refused to leave. And said he’d keep head butting him until he gave up or lost consciousness. I believe the words ‘fight me, pipsqueak’ came out of his mouth, too.” Joker sighed, then chuckled.  
“Hey, he can’t hog all the visiting time. We were all worried about her.” Wrex defended himself.  
“All the visiting time?” Jane asked.  
“Kaidan came straight here and wouldn’t leave after he was discharged from his room.” Joker told her. Of course he didn’t. He’s a good guy. Jane thought after hearing that.  
“What about Garrus? Is he okay?!” She asked in a panic. She realized Joker never said anything about him.  
“He’s fine. He had to stop..somewhere first.” Joker said seeming a little dodgy.  
“Somewhere?”  
“Uh uh. I’m sworn to secrecy. You can’t even order me to tell you. I’m more scared of what he and Wrex would do to me than a court martial.” Joker raised his hands in defense.  
“What are you boys up to and should I be worried?” Jane asked with a chuckle.  
“Nah. It’s just a surprise.” Wrex said with a smile. “Well, we better go and let the girls in before they put us in our own hospital beds, heh.”  
“Bye guys. Come back later and thanks.” Jane said as she waved at them.  
“By the way, don’t ever scare me like that again, commander. I was worried we lost you when they said they couldn’t find you on the radio.” Joker said as he patted her on the shoulder.  
“Is that an order, flight lieutenant?” Jane joked.  
“You bet your reaper stopping ass it is.” Joker said with a smile as he left the room.  
A couple moments later, she saw Liara and Tali enter the room. Before she could say anything, Tali ran up and hugged her while Liara stayed back.  
“Tali, she’s injured.” Liara scolded her but she looked like she was holding herself back.  
“Oh, get over here T'Soni.” Jane motioned to her. “We won't say anything to the boys.” She chuckled. She saw Liara come over and join in the hug.  
“Kee'lah, you had me scared.” Tali said to her as she pulled away.  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-ugh.” Jane groaned in pain when she tried to shift her body.  
“Are you okay? Did I hurt you?” Tali asked worriedly.  
“I’m fine even though I feel like a building fell on me.” She chuckled.  
“You got lucky. Dr. Chakwas said you have a few broken bones in your left arm and right leg, some cracked ribs and a concussion. You need to take it easy for awhile.” Liara told her sternly.  
“Heh. Even if I tried to leave, I doubt anyone here would let me.” Jane chuckled. “And did you say Doctor Chakwas? As in the Normandy's Chakwas?”  
“She wouldn’t take no for an answer. She told them she was treating you whether they liked it or not. Then she barged in and started treating you. I think everyone was too surprised to even react.” Tali giggled as Liara explained the events to Jane.  
“She's such a mother hen sometimes. But I’m glad because she’s the best damn doctor I’ve ever met.” Jane smiled.  
“Well we better let you rest now. Come on, Tali. We’ll come back later. You just focus on resting.” Liara waved to Jane as she gently ushered Tali out of the room.  
“Bye, Shepard. I promise I’ll come back.” Tali waved energetically as Liara pushed her out.  
“Bye.” Jane chuckled as she waved back.  
Just moments later, Jane felt herself drifting back to sleep even though she wanted to be awake to see Garrus. She woke up sometime later to the feeling of someone kissing her forehead. She opened her eyes to see Kaidan standing there, holding her hand.  
“Hey, Alenko.” She greeted him with a smile as she gently moved her hand to pet Carn. She liked Kaidan still but she just couldn’t get the conflicted feelings about Garrus out of her head. She knew she’d have to pick one of them soon but she wanted to talk to Garrus before she made a decision.  
“How about it, Shepard?” She heard Kaidan ask.  
“Huh?” She was so absorbed in her thoughts she didn’t hear what he said.  
“I was thinking we could do a nice steak dinner sometime once you’re feeling better.” He replied.  
“Oh. Uh, sure. Sounds good.” She said letting out a smile as to not worry him. It was just then that she looked over to see Garrus’s backside as he was walking away. She immediately tried getting up to go after him.  
“Oh no you don’t. You’re confined to bed rest for the next couple weeks.” Kaidan scolded her.  
“But-" Jane tried arguing. She needed to talk to Garrus.  
“No buts. Chakwas and Liara would have both our skins if I let you get up.” Kaidan said. Just then there was a knock at the door and Tali came walking in with a bouquet of roses and a stuffed Varren toy that looked almost like Carnifex.  
“Garrus just dropped these off. Aren’t they adorable?!” Tali exclaimed as she handed them to Jane.  
“He did?” Jane smelled the flowers and hugged the Varren with a smile.  
“Really?” Kaidan asked with a tone of jealousy.  
“Well he said it was from all of them at C-Sec. They wish you a full recovery. I didn’t know they did stuff like this!” Tali said full of awe.  
“Neither did I.” Jane replied as she knew they normally never did things like that unless it was one of their own in the hospital. “Is Garrus coming? I saw him leaving.”  
“That was the weirdest thing. He was talking to us normally, all concerned. Then he asked about you and Kaidan, practically shoved the gifts into my arms, and walked away.” Tali responded, confused.  
“Oh.” Jane replied. Oh no, I hope he didn’t think me and Kaidan were exclusive. I really need to talk to him. She thought as she hugged the toy varren tighter.  
“Don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll come by sometime soon. He probably had a lot to do at C-Sec.” Tali said as she gave Jane a quick hug and left again. Oh, C-Sec. I guess he really did go back. She thought sadly. She hoped after everything that he would stay with the Normandy and her. She told Kaidan she was really tired and wanted to rest.  
A week had gone by with everyone visiting her, except Garrus. She really missed him and didn’t really realize how much she enjoyed his company until he was gone. All she wanted to do was get out of the hospital and ask why he hadn’t been by. While she was lost in her thoughts, there was a knock on the door. She looked up to see Anderson and the asari counselor walking in.  
“How are you feeling, Shepard?” Anderson asked her with a smile.  
“A little better. It would be nice if they would let me out of this damn bed.” Jane replied as she sat up.  
“You’ve just got another week if you let your body heal, but spoken like a true soldier. You gave us all quite a scare, y'know.” Anderson said as he put his hand on her shoulder.  
“So I hear. What brings the Asari councilor to a regular marine’s room?” She asked looking at the asari.  
“You’re not just a soldier. You’re a spectre and the hero of the citadel. And we have some business to discuss with you.” She said.  
“Skipping pleasantries and getting straight to the point, I see.” Anderson chuckled.  
“After you saved the citadel and the galaxy, we’ve decided to add a human to the council and we’d like your recommendation for someone.” She told Jane.  
“Me? Why me?” Jane asked, confused.  
“Because you’re a damn hero and the council wouldn’t be here without you.” Anderson chimed in.  
“Well, then I would recommend Captain Anderson.” Jane replied without hesitation.  
“Me? I’m a military man. I don’t know anything about politics.” Anderson replied with shock.  
“That’s why you’d be perfect. We don’t need another politician. We need someone with military experience. I don’t think the reaper threat is over, just postponed.” She told him.  
“Very well. We’ll take it into consideration. You rest now. We’ll brief you on your next mission once you’re better. And you have our complete gratitude for everything you’ve done.” The Asari said before leaving.  
“I sure hope you know what you’re getting me into.” Anderson said. “By the way, you did good. I’m proud of you.”  
“Thank you, sir.” Jane said with a salute and said goodbye to him.  
Another week had gone by and Jane’s sadness of Garrus not visiting turned to anger then disappointment. She was leaving the council chambers after receiving her orders. She had already said goodbye to Tali, Liara, and Wrex. She wanted them to come with but they had their own things to deal with and she understood. She was going from person to person trying to track down Garrus when she finally saw him near the warehouses.  
She put her hands on her hips and called out to him. He greeted her by her last name like they were just acquaintances. When she questioned him about it, he said he was on duty and she was a hero so he was being professional. What the fuck? She thought. It didn’t seem like the Garrus she knew at all. He seemed distant and maybe even a little sad. She questioned him about really going back to C-Sec and asked him how it was. He told her it was better than before, but she could tell he was lying and didn’t know why. She just forced out a smile and told him she was happy for him. She then decided to confront him about not visiting her. He told her he was busy at C-Sec and recovering himself then apologized while hanging his hand. Jane couldn’t stand seeing him like that so she put her hand under his face to lift it up and thanked him for the gifts. He told her it was from everyone at C-sec but she had her doubts. She told him she already said goodbye to the others and wanted to say goodbye to him before her mission. He questioned her about it just being her and Kaidan then and she explained the rest of the crew would be there also. She knew he got the wrong idea but before she could say anything, he put his hand out for a handshake and said it had been a pleasure to work with her. She wanted to slap him, yell at him, tell him she liked him as she felt her heart sink but she just bit her tongue and shook his hand then told him not to be a stranger. After shaking her hand, he walked away. She stood there for a moment and whispered, “I’ll miss you, Garrus Vakarian.” And walked in the opposite direction.  
A few months had passed and Jane had started to fall in love with Kaidan. She still missed Garrus and tried messaging him several times. She sighed as she checked her padd and saw messages from alliance headquarters, Liara, Tali, Anderson, and even Wrex. But Garrus had not written back even once.  
“I guess he only ever saw me as a commanding officer.” She quietly said to herself, while petting Carn. “I really do miss him, boy. But I have you and Kaidan so I’m okay.” She said hugging him. They had been in the area for weeks without any sign of geth or reaper signs. Just as she was about to get up, the ship shook and she fell off her bed.  
“What’s going on, Joker?” She asked over her comm.  
“We're being attacked! It’s not geth. I don’t recognize the ship. They’re cutting straight through our shields!” He replied in a panic.  
Jane immediately suited up and ran out of her quarters. After she saw the damage and learned their weapons weren’t doing anything against them, she called for an evacuation. She immediately started helping others to escape pods when she ran into Kaidan.  
“Is this everyone?” She asked him.  
“Almost. Joker is refusing to leave.” Kaidan said.  
“Get to a pod and I’ll grab Joker.” She told him.  
“No way. I’m not leaving you.” He argued.  
“I’ll be fine. I’ll be right behind you.” She said as she gave him a kiss. “That’s an order.”  
“But- yes, ma’am.” He said as he gave her worried look then went on his way.  
Jane made her way through the wreckage and went to the cockpit.  
“We need to go. Now!” She told Joker.  
“No. I can still save the ship!” He refused as he frantically pressed buttons.  
“The ship is lost. And I’m not losing you.” She said as she forced Joker up and started leading him towards the escape pods.  
“Ow! I think you broke my arm.” He complained as he wobbled along with her.  
“We’ll get it fixed as soon as we’re safe.” She told him as she helped him into the pod.  
Right before she could get in, a blast hit them and she felt herself getting pulled away. She pressed the button to seal and send off Joker’s pod right before it became out of reach. Without the gravity, she tried to float her way to a different pod when another blast came and destroyed the ship. She found herself having trouble breathing and reached behind her to see her oxygen tank had been ruptured. She desperately gasped for breath to no avail. She silently apologized to Joker and Kaidan and felt regret for not seeing Garrus again before her vision turned to black.


	25. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The odds are stacked against Garrus as he tries to take down the merc gangs by himself. Just when he thinks everything is lost, he sees a familiar face.

Garrus knew he was cornered with the odds stacked against him as he shot down a gang member. He wasn’t even sure how many he had killed, he stopped keeping count after Jane.  
“Jane.” He sighed. It had been two years but the sting of hearing of her death hadn’t become any easier. He still remembered when they had her memorial. He stayed just long enough to attend it. He had planned on standing in the back as to not grab anyone’s attention, he didn’t want to deal with anyone. Wrex and Joker spotted him, of course. And instead of forcing him to get closer, they just stood next to him.  
“What are you doing here? Thought you were going back to Tuchanka?” Garrus quietly asked Wrex.  
“I am but we all felt we needed to do one more mission with Shepard. She was a hard woman to leave, for a human.” Wrex replied, solemnly.  
“We?”  
“Me, the quarian, and the asari.” Wrex replied. Damn, they all stayed with her and I was too gutless to even reply to her messages. Garrus thought to himself.  
“I’m sorry, Garrus. I know how much she meant to you and- and it’s all…my fault.” Joker choked out. “She died saving me because I was too much of a stubborn jackass to abandon ship in time.”  
Garrus saw the look of guilt in his eyes and thought it must’ve mirrored his own. He also noticed Joker's eyes were red and a bit wet. He must’ve been crying since it happened. Garrus put his hand on his shoulder. I should’ve stayed and been a friend to her. If I had been there I would’ve saved her, or died with her trying. He thought solemnly.  
“No. You’re a pilot. You’re trained to do everything to save your ship. And you knew Jane, she would’ve given her life to save anyone in her crew. Hell, she’s risked her life for people she barely knew before.” He told Joker, sympathetically. “I don’t blame you. I blamed whoever attacked you guys and I blame myself for being so caught up in my own pity to not be there for her, for all of you.”  
Garrus could feel his own words match his guilt as he started to choke up himself. He then felt something on his shoulder and looked to see Wrex had put his hand on him. They then stood in silence as Captain Anderson went on with her eulogy. He talked about how she was a great soldier, rare woman, and how she had become like a daughter to him. Garrus thought she’d be really happy to hear that last part since she once told him Anderson was like a father to her. Afterwards, Anderson made his way to them.  
“Moreau, Vakarian, Wrex.” He addressed them with a salute. They saluted him back, even Wrex.  
“Sir.” Joker choked out. The eulogy must’ve really gotten to him, Garrus thought.  
“Joker, I read the reports. Everyone’s, including yours. This is not your fault. She was your commander and she did what any good soldier would do. She saved everyone she could, even at the cost of her own life. She wouldn’t want you to punish yourself like this.” Anderson addressed Joker while putting his hand on his soldier.  
“Yessir.” Joker replied but he held his head down.  
“Garrus, Wrex.” Anderson turned to them. “Thank you for coming. It would’ve meant a lot to her. You both meant a lot to her. She told me she wouldn’t had been able to stop Saren without you. And she told me how you helped her in combat and emotionally with that Cerberus facility, Garrus. But now you’ll have to excuse me, I have to deal with some bureaucratic shit that she put me in charge of.” He said as he shook all their hands then went on his way.  
Just then, they saw tali run towards them with Liara right behind her. They took turns hugging the girls.  
“I-I can’t believe she’s gone.” Tali cried as Liara hugged her and patted her back. Garrus could see they’d both been crying but assumed Liara was being strong for Tali.  
“I’m sorry, you guys." Joker told them.  
“No! You don’t get to stand there and act like it’s your fault!” Tali surprisingly yelled out. “We were there too. We could’ve stayed behind and helped but it was just- everything was so hectic. Fire everywhere. People running. I even saw one of the engineers fall dead.”  
“It’s okay, Tali.” Liara tried to soothe her. “Joker, it’s not all your fault. No one blames you.”  
They accompanied him as he went to put roses on the plaque that held her name. They stayed back a little bit to give him room.  
“I’m sorry I let you down, Jane. Now I’ve lost you, my galaxy is gone. Goodbye.” He whispered as he put the roses down and felt a tear run down his face. He wiped it and joined the others.  
Later that night, they had all gathered at his apartment. They drank and shared memories of Jane until they had all passed out.  
Garrus snapped himself back into reality just in time to take down another merc that had come into view. He knew he couldn’t hold them off forever so he decided to tie up one more loose end.  
“Dad?” He called his father from his omnitool.  
“Garrus? Is that you? What’s that sound?” He could hear the voice on the other end.  
“Just some target practice. Listen I wanted to say I’m sorry and you were right about a lot of things. I’m sorry I never listened.”  
“Look, son. Don’t worry about that. How fast are your targets moving?” Garrus could tell he sounded worried.  
“Not fast enough, but they’re learning.”  
“How are your thermal clips?”  
“I could always use more.” Garrus replied.  
“Remember as long as you at least have one left, you can still get the job done. You finish up what you need to do and come home. We have a lot to sort out, son.”  
“Yeah. Thanks for everything, dad.” Garrus said as he looked through his sniper scope when he saw a familiar N7 emblem. It can’t be, he thought. He then moved his scope up and almost dropped his gun when he saw her face.  
“Jane?” He said aloud, shocked.  
“What, son?” He heard his father say on his comm.  
“Nothing. I have to go. But don’t worry, I’ll see you soon. My odds just got better.” He said before hanging up.  
He looked again and confirmed it was her. But her armor was slightly different. The parts that were red before, were now blue. The same blue as his face paint. He shook this thought. He couldn’t figure out why she was with the merc gangs he was fighting. There were two others with her. An older looking male human with facial scars and looked like he was a merc for hire himself, and a young human female with black hair. He knew Jane wouldn’t just ally herself with gangs without reason. He assumed she must’ve infiltrated them. He shot her with a couple concussive rounds just in case she was fooling the mercs, he didn’t want them to get suspicious. He never would’ve been able to shoot her for real and he neither she or the other two were actually shooting at him. Just then, he saw a few more mercs get into his view but before he could shoot them, they fell dead. He saw Jane with her pistol out.  
“I knew it.” He said quietly to himself.  
He waited for them to make their way up to him.  
“Archangel?” He heard Jane ask as he shot down another merc.  
He turned around and took his helmet off as stoic and casual as he could.  
“Shepard. I thought you were dead?” He called out to her.  
He saw her smile as she yelled out his name in surprise. Next thing he knew, she was hugging him. He wanted to hug her tighter but instead he just patted her back. She had asked him some questions about his work there and how he got three gangs to band together against him. After he answered her questions, she asked how they were going to get out of there. He told her they’d just kill all of them on the bridge so they were going to have to whittle down their numbers. Just then, they heard more mercs coming.  
“You ready?” He asked her.  
“Yeah. Let’s spill some merc blood!” She replied with a smile.  
“Heh. Just like old times.” He smirked as he settled himself to start sniping them down. He noticed she situated herself right beside him and was doing the same. After seeing her sniping enemies with such precision, he knew he wasn’t dreaming.  
After taking them down, he told her they needed to shut the shutters to prevent more from coming in. She agreed but told him she wasn’t leaving him alone and told the girl named Miranda to stay behind while she left with the man named Zaeed. He and Miranda held their ground as they waited for Jane. Right before they got back, the blood pack leader had cornered Garrus. Damn, he regenerates too fast, Garrus thought. Just when he thought he was done for, the leader had collapsed in front of him. There was a knife in the back of his neck. He saw Jane standing behind him as she shot him twice in his head with her pistol.  
“Just to be sure.” She panted as she held her hand out to Garrus. “You okay?”  
“Yeah, thanks.” He replied.  
“How did you survive this long without me?” She asked.  
“Hell if I know. I was just winging it.” He laughed. Damn, it felt good to have her back. She said something about just having the blue suns left and asked if they could fight their way out. Garrus said Tarak had the toughest bunch but they should be able to make it. Just then, they heard a loud rumbling and Garrus felt bullets spraying at him as they saw a gunship firing at them. Garrus hid behind some cover as they tried to shoot it down.  
“They fixed it but not all the way! I made sure of that.” He heard Jane yell right before he felt heat as a blast of fire hit him. He felt himself bleeding and vaguely heard Jane yelling out to him before losing consciousness.  
When he opened his eyes, he saw Jane leaning over him. He noticed she had blue on her face and realized it must’ve been his blood. He reached out for her and she held his hand as she had an omnitool over his body. He could see her mouth open but he couldn’t make out what she was saying. Your eyes are wet. Why are you crying? Am I dying? You don’t need to cry for me, Jane. I didn’t expect to get out of this alive. But I’m happy I got to see you one more time before the end. Your smile, your eyes, your spots that remind me of the galaxy. You’ve been my galaxy since I met you. He thought weakly before everything went black.


	26. Reunion: Jane's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane wakes up to find out she had been brought back to life by an unlikely company. She finds out human colonies need her help and sets out to seek the help of a vigilante by the name of Archangel. Once she finds him, she discovers an old friend she didn't expect to run into again.

Jane found herself in a dark forest. The same one she saw when she dreamt of Ashley. She looked around, confused.  
“I don’t get it. Aren’t I dead?” She asked herself.  
“Well, yes and no.” She heard a voice she hadn’t heard in a long time.  
“Daddy?!” She turned around in surprise, to see her parents standing behind her. She ran to hug them. “I’m so happy to see you guys! I’m so sorry I was too much of a coward to-"  
“Shush, Janey. You were just a kid, there was nothing you could do.” He assured her.  
“We are so proud of what you’ve done with your life. We knew we were giving our lives for you and we don’t regret it.” Her mother told her.  
“Am I dreaming?” She asked them with tears in her eyes.  
“Who can say?” Her father smiled.  
Before she could say anything else, her parents and the forest had disappeared and all she could see were bright lights and the faces of a man and a woman above her. She could hear them talking but couldn’t make out what they were saying and she couldn’t say anything. After a moment, everything went dark again.  
She woke up to alarms blaring and pain throughout her body. As she tried to get her thoughts together and figure out where she was, she heard a voice speaking to her on the intercom.  
“Shepard? You need to get moving. We weren’t able to finish healing your scars but we don’t have time to worry about that now. This facility is under attack.”  
Jane put her hand to her face and felt the scars the woman must’ve been talking about.  
“Who are you? What’s going on?” She asked the voice, confused.  
“I’m Miranda and we just brought you back from the dead but there’s no more time for explanations. Grab the gear from the storage chest in the room and make your way to the shuttle bay.” She heard her say.  
Jane changed into the armor. It was her N7 gear but it was like new. She grabbed the pistol and realized it was empty.  
“There’s no thermal clips in this gun!” She explained into her comm.  
“You’ll have to find some- dammit!” She heard Miranda say followed by gunfire.  
“Hello? What’s going on?” She tried asking but there was no answer. “Guess I have to figure out the rest by myself.”  
She went forward trying to find her way to the shuttle bay. She entered a room when she was fired on by a humanoid mech. She dodged behind a desk to avoid being hit.  
“Shit. This is just perfect.” She said to herself. “Not even back from the dead for two minutes before things are trying to kill me.” Just then she saw a thermal clip behind a desk a few feet from her. She hit the mech with her overload then ran to the other desk.  
“Well, hello there friend.” She said as she loaded the clip into her pistol. She then popped two shots into the mech's head. She then made way her way forward, although she didn’t exactly know where she was going. She eventually ran into a young man under fire by several mechs.  
“Shit. They actually managed to bring you back, Shepard.” He addressed her when he noticed her.  
“Who are you? Where are we?” She asked him as she ducked down beside him.  
“We don’t exactly have time for 20 questions right now. Help me with these guys and I’ll answer any questions you have.” He addressed her as he used a biotic pull that made the mechs float in midair. Jane took the opportunity to take each one out.   
“Well, I see being dead didn’t affect your aim.” He said.  
“It’ll take more than something small like dying to do that.” She chuckled.   
“Well, that takes care of them. I promised to answer your questions.”  
“First, how am I alive? I suffocated in space.” She asked him.  
“Well, that’s thanks to Project Lazarus. A lot of credits were put into bringing you back.”   
“But why? How many other test subjects are there? And where is my team?” She asked. She couldn’t understand what was so special about her to bring her back from the dead.  
“You’d have to ask Miranda Lawson. She’s the one in charge of project Lazarus. And there were no others. The whole point of the project was to bring you back. And as for your crew, a few were killed with the Normandy. Some deck crew members but almost everyone made it to safety. But it’s been two years, everyone has moved on by now.” He told her.  
“Two years? I was dead for that long?” She asked. She was in shock. She couldn’t believe she was gone for two years. “Wait, someone named Miranda was talking to me when I woke up.”  
“Do you know where she is?” He asked.  
“No. We got interrupted. I heard gunfire then everything went to static.”  
“Well, we better get going. She’s pretty capable and she’ll make her way to the shuttle to meet us, if she’s able.” Just then he spoke into his comm, addressing someone called Dr. Wilson. He said the doctor seemed surprised she was awake and alive and that he gave them directions to get to him. Jacob then told her to follow him.  
She followed along as they fought mechs as they popped up. They eventually met up with Dr. Wilson, who seemed to have an injured leg. Jane saw a medigel container on the wall and grabbed it to heal his leg. She then pointed out that she recognized him from when she temporarily gained consciousness, he said he was working under Miranda to bring her back. They then agreed to head toward the shuttles when more mechs came into their view. Jane quickly used her overload on some explosive crates to take them out.  
“Before we go further, I think you should know who owns this facility and funded the Lazarus Project, Shepard. I doubt you’ll like what you hear.” Jacob spoke up.  
“Are you crazy?” Wilson spoke up.  
“She’s not gonna trust us of she’s expecting us to shoot her in the back.” He said. “This is a Cerberus facility.”  
“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Jane jumped back. She couldn’t believe what she heard. “The same Cerberus responsible for those horrid thresher maw attacks and numerous Alliance deaths? They killed a fucking admiral!” She tightly held her gun in her shaking hands, ready to fire at the slightest sense of danger. She was so angry, she could feel her eyes welling up with tears.  
“I heard about all that and from what I understand, those were rogue cells and word is you took care of them.” Jacob tried to calm her down. She didn’t answer him, she just stood there in shocked silence. She couldn’t believe Cerberus was responsible for bringing her back.  
“We still need to get to those shuttles and get you out of here in one piece. Look, I know you don’t trust Cerberus but why would they bring you back just to kill you now?” Jacob spoke up after a moment.  
“Fine. But I’m keeping my eye on you.” Jane said then reluctantly followed them. They finally made their way to the shuttle bay but when the doors opened, a woman with black hair shot Wilson dead. Jacob referred to her as Miranda. Jane instinctively held her gun up at her and demanded to know why she shot him. She explained he was the traitor and tried to kill her. Jane tried arguing that she didn’t need to kill him but Miranda just said she couldn’t risk anything happening to her and convinced her it was time to go.  
Jane had just got done discussing what happened on Freedom's Progress with the Illusive Man. She couldn’t believe that Collectors were kidnapping humans and doing god knows what with them. It was also disturbing to think that they were working with the reapers. She still had doubts about working with Cerberus. She still hated them for what happened with her squad and the admiral but she knew she needed their resources to stop the Collectors, so she had decided she’d stay and use them until her mission was over. She still wished that Tali would have come with her but she understood that she had her own mission to get done.   
“She’s grown so much. But I guess 2 years will do that to someone.” Jane said to herself as she walked in the facility. The Illusive Man had said he found a pilot she could work with, though she was sure it was just going to be another Cerberus lackey. Just then she saw someone walking towards her. As she squinted her eyes to get a better look, they came into view and she saw a familiar face as she recognized the person waddling towards her.  
“Joker?!” She yelled in surprise as she ran and hugged him.  
“Shepard! Careful. You’re gonna break my bones.” He laughed as he hugged her back.  
“I can’t believe you’re here. Wait, what are you doing here?”  
“I’m your pilot, of course. The best deserves the best, right?” He said with a cocksure smile.  
“But this is Cerberus. What about the Alliance?”  
“Things just weren’t the same after you… after you were gone.” He said, solemnly. “After the attack, the council wrote Sovereign up as a single attacker and denounced everything you said about the reapers. Then Cerberus seeked me out. I almost didn’t believe it when they said they were bringing you back but I had to come see for myself. Oh and I didn’t come alone.” He let out a whistle and they heard something running towards them. Before Jane knew it, she had been knocked down by a varren.  
“Huh?! Is that you, Carnifex?!” She smiled in joy when he licked her face in excitement.  
“Wrex made sure to grab him and take him to his escape pod in all the chaos. He knew you’d be heartbroken without him. I offered to take him afterward. Didn’t want anything to happen to your favorite varren pup.” Joker said as Jane slowly got back up.  
“He’s so big but I guess it really has been 2 years.” She said while petting him. Just then they saw a ship come into view in the windows. “Whoa! That looks almost like the Normandy!” She spoke up, wide eyed.  
“They styled it after the Normandy. And I’ve already got the perfect name for this beauty. Normandy SR-2.” Joker spoke up, smiling.  
“Sounds perfect. Well, let’s get going. We’re off to Omega to look for this Archangel.” Jane put her hand on Joker's shoulder before heading to the docking bay.  
They had just landed on Omega, when a Batarian approached Jane’s group and told them to go see someone name Aria as soon as possible. Upon asking why, he just told her that it was best for her if she did and she wouldn’t want to anger Aria. After agreeing, he left without another word. Just then, she saw an older looking man with scars on his face beating up a Batarian. She looked at her data pad before approaching him. She asked if he was Zaeed Massani and he told her he was and that his fee was already paid by the Illusive Man. He told her he could join as soon as he got his bounty taken care of. She waited for him to get finished before taking him and Miranda with to meet Aria.  
Jane was leaving the VIP area of Afterlife after meeting Aria T'Loak and getting information on Archangel and the scientist, Mordin Solus. Well, she was quite the character. Jane thought as she thought about their conversation. She decided she wanted to look for this Archangel first and they decided they’d pretend to be freelance mercenaries in order to get close enough to get to him. She couldn’t believe he got three different gangs to get together just to kill him. She knew he was the kind of person they needed. They bluffed their way into the ranks and made their way to talk to a Cathka, who they were told would give them their orders. Along the way, Jane sabotaged the mechs by hacking into them and removing the program that distinguished ally from enemy. A short distance from their destination, Jane got hit by a single sniper shot that momentarily lowered her shields but didn’t damage her.   
“Ouch. What the-? Was that that Archangel guy that shot me?” Jane exclaimed, rubbing her left arm. Seriously, why is it always this damn arm? She thought.  
“If it was, he was either doing a warning shot for some goddamn reason or these mercs can’t fight for shit and they all fucking need to learn to fight.” Zaeed answered her.  
They finally got to Cathka who basically told them they were going to be fodder while the actual gang members would surround Archangel. A group of men suddenly came up saying the signal had been sent. He ordered them all to take their positions before he returned to fixing the gunship he was working on.  
“Sorry pal, but I need this guy alive.” Jane said once they were alone before killing him with an electric rod to the back. She wasn’t proud of it but she needed Archangel to save colonies.  
Upon reaching the other mercs, Jane’s group shot them down quickly before reaching Archangel's location.  
When they reached him, Jane spoke up and asked if he was Archangel. He shot down a merc with his sniper before turning around. He put his leg on a stool before he took off helmet and calling out her last name and saying he thought she was dead. Jane couldn’t believe her eyes. Under the helmet was Garrus Vakarian. She smiled and yelled his name out in surprise and before she knew it, she had instinctively hugged him.  
“What are you doing here?” She asked as she stepped away.  
“Well, after you- I mean, things were even worse at C-Sec when I went back. I got tired of all the bullshit and I wanted to go somewhere to make a difference. Heh, even had my own team kind of like you did to take down Saren. And this place never runs out of bad guys to shoot.” He replied.  
“Yeah. You got me a couple times.” Jane said as she rubbed her arm again.  
“Concussive shots only. Nothing serious. Didn’t want the mercs to get suspicious."  
“Uh huh. How’d you manage to piss off every major gang leader enough to work together to take you down?”   
“It wasn’t easy.” Garrus smirked.  
“I’ll bet but how do we get out of here?” Jane asked him.  
“Well, if we try to take the bridge, they’ll just shoot us down. We’ll have to lower their numbers before attempting to leave.” He replied. Then when they heard more mercs in bound, he asked her if she was ready. She replied with a comment about spilling merc blood before setting up with her sniper right next to him. He chuckled about it being just like old times before they started shooting down enemies. Yeah, old times. Jane thought to herself with a smile. She felt so much joy in fighting along his side again. Garrus told her they needed to shut the shutters before they were overwhelmed. After he gave her instructions on how to get to them, she said she was going to take Zaeed with her and leave Miranda with him. She wasn’t going to risk anything happening to him after being reunited when she wasn’t even sure if he was still alive until she saw him.   
She and Zaeed made short work of the mercs and got the shutters closed with little resistance. They hurried up and made their way back to Garrus and Miranda. Just then they saw Bloodpack mercs surrounding the rendezvous point.   
“Fuck! You gotta be kidding me!” Jane yelled as she took out her pistol and shot down mercs as she ran towards Garrus. When she got to his location, she saw him cornered by the blood pack leader and noticed he was about to strike Garrus down. She pulled a long knife out of her belt and launched herself toward the Krogan. She aimed for the back of his neck under his armor with all of her strength. After he fell down, she shot him twice in the head and said she just wanted to be sure he was dead. After she caught her breath, she asked Garrus if he was okay. After he confirmed he was, she informed him they just had the blue suns left. Just then they heard a rumbling sound and bullets spraying at them. They all ducked in separate directions to find cover when they saw Tarak in his gunship. Jane yelled out it wasn’t all the way fixed. A moment later, Jane saw a blast in the area as the gunship fired a rocket at them. Once the smoke cleared, Jane saw Garrus bleeding motionless on the ground.  
“Garrus!?” She yelled in horror and tried to make her way towards him but had to duck back into cover when the ship kept firing on her.  
“You fucking bastard!” She screamed with tears in her eyes as she threw everything she had at the ship until it exploded.   
She immediately ran to Garrus to try and read a pulse on him. Just then he gasped and opened his eyes.  
“Garrus! Hang on, I’m going to get you help!” She removed her hand from his wound and put it up to her face to get Joker on the comm. “Joker! We need an immediate pick up! It’s an emergency!” She cried out.  
“He’s not going to make it, Shepard.” Miranda spoke up.  
“Shut up! He has to. Where is that fucking transport?!” She yelled as tears just started soaking her face.“ She moved her hair out of her face then put her hands back on his wounds in an attempt to stop the bleeding. “Garrus? Can you hear me? Just hang on please. You can’t leave me. Not again. Not like this!” She cried as she ripped a piece of fabric off her pants to cover the wound on his face.  
“Ah, Hell. Tell your goddamn pilot to hurry the fuck up.” Zaeed yelled out.  
“There’s the shuttle.” Miranda yelled out.  
“Finally!” Jane spoke up as she attempted to lift him. She was having trouble but Zaeed went to help her and they carried him to shuttle and rushed back to the Normandy to get him to the medbay.   
They wouldn’t let Jane in while they were doing surgery to save Garrus. So she was in her cabin, just waiting. She looked in the mirror and saw his blue blood on her face.  
“Please be okay, Garrus. You have to. I just found you again.” She said as she wiped the blood off her face. Just then, Jacob called her to the meeting room to talk about Garrus’s condition. She sighed before steeling herself for whatever news there was and went to go meet him.


	27. Remembering the Fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus wakes up to find he survived the fight on Omega. Later, he notices Jane not acting like herself after she returns from a solo mission and goes to find out what happened.

Garrus woke up to bright lights and he realized he must’ve been in the hospital. But how? He thought. As he tried to sit up, he let out a groan as he felt a sharp pain on his face. He felt where the pain was and felt a gap in his face covered with stitches.  
“So I didn’t die?” He asked himself, aloud.  
“It was touch and go for awhile but you pulled through, Garrus.” He heard a familiar voice.  
“Doctor Chakwas? But how? Where am I?” He asked her.  
“You’re on the Normandy. Rebuilt, of course. Renamed too but I’ll always think of her as just The Normandy.” She replied as she checked him over. “You’re lucky the commander responded as quickly as she could. I heard she contacted Joker as soon as the fight was over and demanded a pickup immediately. Then she and Zaeed carried you into a shuttle and rushed you here.”  
“I’ll have to remember to thank her. I thought I was done for.” Garrus replied as he touched his face again. “And thank you for saving me, Doctor.”  
“You’re welcome, of course. I couldn’t let my favorite turian die.” She smiled. “Now off with you. They want you in the meeting room.”  
Garrus thanked her again and went on his way. He felt his face again as he walked. Well, Jane saved me. I really owe her now. No matter what, I won’t leave her again. Not that I was planning on it, anyways. He thought to himself as he approached the doors to the meeting room before walking in.  
“Hey there.” He spoke up as he saw Jane and a young man talking.  
“Garrus! You’re okay!” Jane replied with joy in her voice. Damn, it feels good to see her smile, Garrus thought.  
“Hey there, Garrus. I’m Jacob Taylor. It’s good to see you survived.” The young man introduced himself as he shook his hand.  
“Okay, but seriously. How did you survive a rocket to the face?” Jane spoke up.  
“Hell if I know. Your luck must’ve rubbed off on me. I mean, you did die and come back.” He said to her.  
“Huh. I did, didn’t I?” She smirked.  
“The doctor patched me up pretty good although she said the scar will probably stay. But I hear women like scars, mostly krogan but oh well.” Garrus shrugged.  
“Pffft. You were always ugly. Slap some of your blue paint on and no one will notice.” Jane joked which made Garrus laugh.  
“Ouch! Don’t make me laugh. It’s still tender.” He exclaimed.  
They all chatted a bit more until Garrus decided to make space in the Main Battery. He told them he wanted to make sure the guns were properly calibrated. Not long after he settled in, Jane came to visit him. He questioned her about working with Cerberus. He knew how much she hated them and how much pain and suffering they had caused her in the past. She told him they weren’t working with them but just using their resources to help the colonies. He knew it was important but couldn’t help but to think her growing up as a colonist might be part of it. She then told him that if she was walking into hell, she wanted someone she could trust like him with her. He remarked that her plan had him walking into hell as well and joked about it being just like old times. Damn, he missed their visits together. After some catching up, she said she should go and went on her way.  
Later that day, they had returned from looking for the krogan warlord. He had sacrificed himself to save his creation: a tank bred krogan which he called perfect. Jane had the Normandy pick it up and Garrus had questioned her about what she was going to do with it. She casually said she was going to open it. She told him that he’d either be helpful or a ticking bomb and she’d rather find out which sooner than later. When he asked her how it went, she told him that he had initially attacked and pushed her against a wall. She then explained that she told him they had worthy enemies to fight and he could fight with them but she didn’t take threats kindly. She told Garrus he had agreed and told her if their enemies weren’t worthy, he’d kill her and picked the name Grunt for himself. Garrus was sort of relieved he wasn’t with because he knew he would’ve fought him as soon as he attacked Jane and they probably wouldn’t have had him as an ally after that. And he was impressed she managed to get a krogan to back down by getting in their face once again, just like she did with Wrex on Virmire. Damn, he kind of missed Wrex also and hoped they could’ve had him with them on their mission, but he knew Wrex was busy with his own problems on Tuchanka.  
Later on, Garrus had went to the cockpit to chat with Joker. They caught up and shared some jokes with each other when Miranda came on the comm and asked where Shepard was.  
“Oh. She wanted to go to the wreckage of the old Normandy. She was adamant on finding the dog tags of the ones we lost for their families.” Joker replied into the comm.  
“She what? By herself? On whose authority?” Miranda answered back, angrily.  
“Uh, have you met her? She went on her own authority. I wasn’t about to tell her no and she wouldn’t have listened anyways.” Joker replied while shaking his head. He heard Miranda sigh and turn off her comm.  
“She really went by herself? To shift through the wreckage of the ship she died on?” Garrus asked Joker.  
“Yeah. I tried to convince her to take at least you but she said she needed to do it herself.” He replied.  
“Oh.” Garrus replied. He was a little hurt she didn’t want to take him with on something so important but he knew Jane and understood why she wanted to do it alone. They chatted a little longer when Jane showed up with a small crate in her hands.  
“Make sure these get to the alliance. They’re the dog tags I found amongst the wreckage.” She told Joker and then turned to walk away.  
“Of course, commander. Wait. Is something wrong?” Joker asked her.  
“I- I’m going back to my cabin. Don’t tell anyone I’m back yet though. Wait like twenty minutes if you can.” She replied, solemnly.  
“Okay but-" Joker tried talking but she had already left. After a moment, he just gave Garrus a “go talk to her" look.  
“Right. I’m going.” Garrus said, taking the hint.  
He knocked on the door to Jane’s cabin. When there was no answer, he talked through the door.  
“It’s Garrus. I know you’re in there Jane.”  
“Come in.” He heard her reply softly.  
When he entered he saw her sitting on her bed, hugging her knees.  
“What happened down there? Why did you go alone?” Garrus asked, sitting on the bed next to her.  
“I was their commander. It’s my responsibility to return their dog tags to their loved ones. I was responsible for their safety.” She replied in a soft voice.  
“Hey. From what I heard, their weapons ripped through the ship and you ordered an evac as soon as you realized your ship had no chance. It wasn’t your fault. You die- you risked your life trying to get as many people as you could out. You saved Joker.” Garrus tried to console her. "But that isn’t what’s bothering you, is it?”  
“What?” She looked at him in surprise.  
“Anderson. The crew. Me. Hell, everyone knows you did everything you could to save as many people as possible so I know you have to know that, too. So what’s wrong?” Garrus replied to her.  
“My.. dog tags.” She sniffled out with a tear escaping her eye.  
“What about them?” Garrus asked.  
“They weren’t there. I looked everywhere and found everyone else’s but mine weren’t there. If I had stayed dead, there wouldn’t be anything left for anyone to remember me by. Everything I was and did, it would be just gone. All I found was my damn helmet.” She said as she set her N7 helmet on the bed. Garrus saw it was scratched up. He then hugged Jane.  
“Hey. None of that is true. I went to your memorial and heard Anderson talk about how much you meant to him. All the crew members were there as well as any alliance marines on the citadel and even the council paid their respects to you. You matter to a lot of people and there’s so many that would never forget you. Tali, Wrex, Joker, Liara, Kaidan, Anderson. And me. I would never be able to forget you, Jane. You’re too damn important to me.” Garrus told her as he held her to calm her down.  
“You really mean that?” She looked up at him.  
“Of course. I mean, no one else has kicked my ass at target practice in a long time.” He joked.  
“Thanks, Garrus. I don’t know what I would do if you weren’t here with me.” She smiled. Damn, she’s so beautiful. He thought as he smiled back.  
“I should probably head-" Garrus started before she interrupted him.  
“No. Could you stay and just talk for a bit?” Jane asked as she grabbed his arm.  
“Of course. But first thing’s first.” Garrus picked up her helmet and placed it on the nearby desk. “This thing has been put through the wringer and is still here in one piece, just like its owner. Keep it here as a reminder of how strong it and you are.”  
“I will. Thank you.” She smiled. They then sat and talked until they both fell asleep.


	28. Remembering the Fallen: Jane's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane is relieved to find out Garrus had survived the fight on Omega. But after a solo mission, she feels depression threatening to take over her right before Garrus shows up to talk with her.

Jane made her way to meet Jacob, silently hoping for good news about Garrus. I just found him again, I can’t lose him now, she thought to herself before entering the meeting room.  
“Hey Shepard.” Jacob greeted her.  
“Hi. So how is he?” She immediately asked him.  
“Well, it doesn’t look good. I don’t know how anyone could survive a hit like that. Last I heard, Chakwas was still operating on him.” He told her. Jane was fighting back tears as she dreaded the worst when the door opened and Garrus walked in and greeted them. She called out his name in joy. She noticed he had a large wound on the side of his face but she was happy he survived. Jacob introduced himself to Garrus and Jane interrupted them to ask Garrus how he survived a rocket to the face and he just joked that her luck rubbed off on him and that she had died and came back, she just smirked and acted nonchalant and agreed that she did. He told her the doctor fixed him up but told him the scar would probably be permanent and made a joke about women, mostly krogan, liking men with scars. She threw a joke at him about just slapping on some of his blue paint and no one would notice. Jacob took the time to explain their mission and what they had learned so far. When he mentioned they were on a Cerberus ship, Jane saw Garrus give her a confused and worried look. After awhile, Garrus told them he’d stay in the Main Battery when he wasn’t sleeping and went on his way.  
After talking with Jacob a bit, Jane decided to go check up on Garrus and made her way to the battery.  
“Hey Vakarian.” She greeted him as she slightly leaned in the doorway.  
“Shep- ouch!” He exclaimed while he hit his head on some equipment as he stood up.  
“Careful there or you’ll be spending all your time in the medbay instead.” She laughed.  
“No kidding. But seriously? Cerberus?” Garrus asked her with suspicion. “After everything, I figured you’d shoot them on sight.”  
“Yeah, well…” She rubbed the back of her neck as she replied to him. “These human colonies need help and they have the resources so we’re just using them until the job is done. We are not working for them. I still don’t trust them, specifically the Illusive Man. And shit, Garrus, if I’m walking into Hell, I need someone I can trust with me. I need you. I understand if you don’t want to come with…”   
“You know this plan has me walking into hell too? Heh. Just like old times. Don’t worry. I’m with you no matter what.” He replied with a smile. “Now I hear you have a whole cabin?”  
“Oh yeah! First class now. Even comes with an aquarium and Carn loves it.” She bragged with a smile.  
“You’re going to keep pets? You know you have to feed them? Daily?”  
“Hey! Carn is just fine.” Jane said as she crossed her arms.  
“To be fair, Joker did take care of him for two years.” Garrus laughed.  
“Watch it, Vakarian. I’ll rile him up and set him loose in here.” She smiled at his joke. “But I should go and look over these dossiers some more.”   
“Alright. These guns could use some calibrating.”  
Jane made her way to the Port Cargo Bay to check out the tank bred krogan they acquired from the krogan warlord before he died. The crew had been reluctant about her releasing it, specifically Garrus. She had told him she needed to know if he was a useful ally or a ticking bomb. She told EDI to open the tank, much to the AI's dismay as she tried to talk Jane out of it but Jane had already made up her mind. Once it was opened, the krogan looked around then immediately pushed her against the nearby wall with his forearm on her throat. He threatened to kill her and asked who she was.  
“I’m Commander Jane Shepard and I have worthy enemies if you would rather fight them.” She kept her face stern as she talked to him.  
“They better be strong or I’ll settle on killing you. But I need a name first. I heard someone say…Grunt. Bah, meaningless but it’ll do.” He said to himself.  
“I’ll remind you. I’m Commander Jane Shepard and I don’t take threats kindly.” She said as she looked down to show him she had her pistol pointed at his abdomen the whole time.  
“Huh?” He asked before looking down to see her gun. “Ha. You’re crafty. Alright, I’ll fight your enemies. For now.” He smiled as he backed up to release his hold on her. She took time to explain the circumstances of his getting to the Normandy and their mission. Joker came on the comm and told her he found the coordinates she had asked about. She made sure Grunt was settled in before making her way to the cockpit.  
“You found it?” Jane asked Joker.  
“Yeah! I mean it wasn’t very hard. She was a large ship. The bulk of it landed on an uninhabited planet.”  
“Great. Take us there immediately. I’m going to go suit up.” She told him.  
“Which crew members are you taking, Commander Shepard? I’ll tell them to get ready for the mission.” EDI asked her.  
“None. I’m going alone.”  
“Wait! You can’t.” Joker interjected. “I get that you don’t trust everyone yet but at least take Garrus if that’s the issue.”  
“No. That’s not it. I need to do this alone.”  
“But that’s the ship you- well you shouldn’t go alone.” He tried pleading with her.  
“I’m going myself and that’s it. I was responsible for that ship and the crew. I need to get the dog tags of the ones we lost.” She said as she left before Joker could argue with her anymore.  
She landed her shuttle on the planet and made her way to the debris of the Normandy.  
“Damn. This thing really took the beating.” She said to herself as she looked at the wreckage. She quickly made her way around, collecting all the dog tags she could find. She stopped at the remains of the cargo bay and took a moment to think about Ashley. She found Pressly’s data pad near his tags. She went over some of the entries and saw he didn’t like the idea of aliens on an Alliance ship at first but saw entries that confirmed he eventually changed his mind and seemed fond of their crew before the end. Jane remembered the conversation she had with him when they first set off to find Saren. He had expressed concerns about them and she had told him to give them a chance. She smiled as she held his pad, she was glad he saw them the same way she did before the end. She had scoured the entire area at least three times and she had collected all 20 of the crew’s tags but she couldn’t find her own. She couldn’t understand it. She hadn’t taken them off since she got them, so she knew she was wearing them when she died. She noticed her oxygen was starting to get low so she decided she’d look around the area one more time. They have to be here, she thought as she looked around. Just then she saw a glint of light in the distance and thought it had to be them and ran towards where she saw it. But when she reached the location, what she saw was her old N7 helmet. She picked it up and tightened her grip as she held it upside down.  
“Dammit. If I never would’ve been brought back, then there wouldn’t be anything left for anyone to remember me.” She said to herself. Just then, she realized her oxygen was almost on empty. She reluctantly looked at the wreckage one last time and with tears in her eyes, whispered an apology for everyone she couldn’t save before getting back in the shuttle to return to the Normandy.  
Jane made her way to the cockpit, feeling dejected. She sighed before entering and saw Joker and Garrus talking. She didn’t say anything so as not to give any hints to how she was feeling and handed Joker the box of dog tags and asked him to make sure it got to the Alliance. He acknowledged her order then took a look at her and asked if something was wrong. Damn, should’ve known he’d see through me, she thought. She ignored his question and told him she was going to her cabin and asked him not to tell anyone she was back for at least twenty minutes and left while ignoring him calling out to her.  
When she got to her cabin, she put her helmet on her bed and sat down, hugging her knees. Just when she was about to let her sadness take over her, she heard a knock on her door.  
“Go away.” She quietly whispered to herself as she hugged her knees closer to her chest. After a moment, she heard Garrus announce himself from the other side of the door and state he knew she was in there. That’s right he was with Joker when I got back, she thought. She quietly called out to him to come in. Once he came in, he sat on the bed next to her and questioned what was wrong and why she went alone. She told him she was responsible for the lives that were lost and for getting their tags to their loved ones. He tried to console her by pointing out her ship had been ripped through by the enemy's weapons and her evacuating the ship when she knew it was a lost cause. He almost said that she died to save Joker but corrected himself by saying she risked her life for him. Everyone tiptoes around the fact I died, especially Joker, Jane thought to herself. Garrus then interrupted her thoughts by telling her that wasn’t what was bothering her. She gave him a blank stare as she questioned him with a “what".  
He told her that Anderson, the crew and even he knew she did everything she could so he knew she knew that too and again questioned her about what was really bothering her. She sniffled and told him it was her dog tags as she felt her eyes get wet. He questioned what she meant and she explained that she found everyone’s tags but couldn’t find hers anywhere. That if she had stayed dead, there wouldn’t have been anything for anyone to remember her by and picked up her helmet and said that was all she found of hers as she set it down on the bed in front of them. They both stared at the damaged but intact helmet for a moment, when all of the sudden she felt a pair of arms around her and looked over to see Garrus hugging her. He spoke up and told her he had been at her memorial and heard Anderson speaking fondly of her and said all the crew from the Normandy as well as any Alliance members on the citadel and even the council had showed up to pay their respects. He then named everyone from the team when they went after Saren and himself could never forget her. He told her she was too important for him to ever forget as she felt him hug her tighter. She asked him if he really meant it and he told her he did and joked about her being the only one to kick his ass at target practice. She thanked him and told him she didn’t know what she would do without him as she smiled. This had reminded her of the time he came and talked to her right after they lost Ashley. He somehow always cheered her up when she didn’t think she’d want to see anyone. He smiled back at her then got up and started to say he should leave when she instinctively grabbed his arm and asked him to stay and talk for awhile. She didn’t want him to leave yet. He agreed and grabbed her helmet and told her to keep it as a reminder that it had been through a lot but it was still in one piece and to let it remind her how strong both it and she was, as he set it on her desk. She thanked him and agreed. He then sat back on the bed with her and they continued to talk. She had suddenly stopped hearing his voice and looked over to see he had fallen asleep. She was too tired to wake him and didn’t want to bother him either.  
“Thank you, Garrus. You’ve become one of the most important people to me and have held me together through my toughest times. I’d be lost without you.” She said as she gently touched his face before feeling herself drift off to sleep with a smile on her face.


	29. Horizon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus is nervous around Jane after realizing he fell asleep in her bed with her. Later, they run into Kaidan on Horizon where a not so sweet reunion takes place.

Garrus slowly opened his eyes when he felt something warm and wet touching his hand. He looked over and saw Carnifex licking him.   
“Carn? What are you doing here? Wait, where am I?” He questioned himself then looked over and saw Jane’s head on his shoulder, sleeping. He took a moment to smile at her looking the most peaceful he’d seen her in a long time and he could’ve sworn it looked like she was smiling. All of a sudden, it dawned on him that he was still in her cabin. Shit, did I fall asleep on her bed? Why didn’t she wake me up or did she fall asleep first? He panicked as he recalled the events of the night before. He slowly got up in an attempt to not wake her up. Just then, his comm went off.  
“Garrus, buddy. How’s the commander? Is she okay?” He heard Joker.  
“Shit. Yeah, she’s okay now, I think.” Garrus spoke quietly back as he exited Jane’s cabin and went to the elevator.  
“Why are you whispering?” Joker asked.  
“Meet me in the mess hall and I’ll uh explain.” Garrus replied with a sigh.  
Once he got to the mess hall, Garrus grabbed a dextro based breakfast and sat down while he waited for Joker.  
“So? What happened? You never came back last night.” Joker asked as he sat down with a coffee.  
“She was upset because her dog tags weren’t at the crash site. Do you know where they are?” Garrus asked him.  
“No. She always had them on. We’re supposed to in case something like that happens. So we can be identified and our tags can be given to our next of kin or whatever.”  
“Huh, strange. She was upset that no one would’ve remembered her if she wouldn’t have been brought back.”   
“That’s ridiculous!” Joker exclaimed.  
“I know and that’s what I told her. And I think it worked, she seemed better after we talked.” Garrus told him.  
Just then he saw Jane come into the mess hall with a coffee in her hand.  
“Morning Joker. Hey Garrus.” She greeted them as she walked by and went towards Miranda’s office.  
“Yea. Hey, uh Shep…” Garrus stammered out. I’m such an idiot, he thought.   
“What was that about?” Joker questioned.  
“I um kinda slept in her bed last night.” Garrus said as he lowered his voice.  
“Garrus! You sly dog.” Joker exclaimed with a grin.  
“No! Nothing like that happened. There was no alcohol involved this time and I just fell asleep talking.” Garrus explained in a panicked tone.  
“This time?” Joker raised his eyebrow at Garrus.   
“Ugh. When Ashley died, she was already drinking when I showed up with my own alcohol. But she passed out and I just covered her up and left.” Garrus sighed. “Besides…”  
“What?” Joker asked.   
“Well besides me being a turian and her a human. She’s, well, she’s her. An amazing, geth killing, Citadel saving hero and I’m just a turian that couldn’t cut it as a C-sec officer or vigilante.” Garrus replied as he fiddled with his food.  
“Come on, Garrus. You didn’t fail at anything. Jane recruited you on both the Citadel and Omega. You left to help her save lives and kick ass.” Joker told him.  
“Yeah. I only joined the first time to track Saren and I would’ve died had she not showed up on Omega. Hell, I almost did. Besides she has Kaidan..”  
“Snap out of it! Do you see Kaidan here? Because I don’t. I don’t even think she’s told him she’s alive yet. And that’s why you left and didn’t even visit her after the attack on the Citadel, isn’t it?” He confronted Garrus.  
“Yeah. I saw them together and I just couldn’t-" Garrus started.  
“You damn, blue-blooded, trigger happy, idiot! You never even talked to her, did you? They weren’t together then. They didn’t get together until after we left for our mission. Do you have any idea how depressed she was that you didn’t come see her at the hospital?” Joker scolded him. “And she didn’t know what she did wrong to deserve the fact that you wouldn’t even respond to her messages!”  
“What?” Garrus looked at him dumbfounded. He’d never seen Joker talk like that before.  
“Ugh. Nevermind. I have to go. We’re going back to Omega to get that scientist guy. Just remember, you’re important to her, okay?” Joker said as he got up and left.  
Garrus took a moment to process what Joker had told him. He was still trying to figure out what he had meant when Jane came out of Miranda’s office and put her hand on his shoulder.  
“Come on, buddy. We’re off to get the scientist.” Jane said to him.  
“Right. I’m coming.” He said as he got up and followed her.  
Later that day, after they had returned from their mission, Garrus was looking over the guns in the Main Battery when he heard Jane say his name.  
“Oh, hey. How’s it uh going, Shepard?” Garrus greeted her, still a little nervous about falling asleep in her room.  
“I’m sorry.” She said, sounding solemn. “I wasn’t thinking clearly when I had you and Grunt follow me into a quarantine zone that had a plague that affected everyone except humans.”  
“It’s alright. I mean, Mordin had a cure so we ended up alright.” Garrus told her.  
“Yeah. But if he wouldn’t have had it- You already almost died once on my watch and I wasn’t thinking correctly.”  
“Hey. I agreed to come with and I promised I wouldn’t leave again.” He blurted out, then realized by her puzzled look that he hadn’t told her about his resolve to stick around no matter what. “Nevermind. If you would’ve waited to get different squad members for the mission, that Daniel kid probably would’ve died.”  
“You’re probably right but still. It was reckless of me and I should’ve thought it through.” She said while staring at the ground.  
“Hey. I’m okay and so is Grunt. That’s what matters. Everyone made it out alive except for the gang members and vorcha but I’m okay with that outcome. Plus, we just helped cure a whole damn plague.” Garrus tried to console her. He made the choice to go into a quarantine zone with her and didn’t want her to feel guilty about it.  
“I suppose you’re right-" She started when Joker came on the comm saying the Illusive Man wanted to speak with her. “Great. Just who I don’t want to see.” She sighed then told Joker she’d be right there. She said goodbye to Garrus then went on her way. Whew. I’m glad she didn’t mention anything about last night. I wonder if she knows I ended up sleeping in her bed with her. Garrus thought as he went back to his work.  
Later on, they had landed on Horizon. Jane had informed Garrus and Grunt that the Illusive Man had said it was the next colony to be hit. She admitted she didn’t know how he knew but they needed to learn what the collectors were up to.   
“Uh, it looks like they already got hit. No one’s around.” Garrus spoke up.  
“Shit. Well, let’s take a look around for any clues.” Jane said as she walked forward. “At least it looks like Mordin's breakthrough for the swarms is working.” They all looked around and realized the bug like creatures weren’t bothering them.  
As they went further in the colony, they came under attack from who Garrus guessed were the collectors. They took care of them rather easily enough. The second time they were attacked, they realized the Collectors had husks with them as well.  
“Dammit. I hate these things.” He heard Jane call out.  
“Yeah. Saren had husks he used for the reapers. Guess they really are working with them.” Garrus said as he shot the last one down.  
“Well that’s just fucking perfect!” Jane exclaimed.  
As they went on, they looked over a dead husk in the ground.  
“Is that one of the colonists?” Grunt asked them.  
“I don’t think so. Before, they used spikes to create husks and I don’t see any here, so they must’ve brought them with.” Garrus spoke up. Jane mentioned they were more advanced than the ones she encountered on Eden Prime then wondered if they were experimenting on the colonists for some reason. She took one more look at the husk then told them they weren’t getting anymore victims and told them it was time to move on.  
A little further down, they ran into more collectors they had to fight. After the fight, Garrus saw Jane pick up a strange looking gun. He went up to her and said it looked like some kind of particle beam. She expressed excitement and put it on her back before they moved on. They found two colonists that seemed frozen still and Garrus remarked that it looked like some stasis field and Jane said that must have been how the collectors were abducting colonists without leaving battle signs, but they still weren’t sure why they were abducting them.   
Jane hacked the doors to a garage and they went in. A moment later, they came across a man. He seemed surprised that Jane was human and accused her of leading the collectors to him. She asked him if he had heard the banging on the doors and told him they already knew he was there. Jane asked the man what happened and he said things were normal but the defense towers wiped out a power grid so he went down to fix it and then he heard screaming and saw his friends getting taken. He blamed the Alliance and a commander Alenko. Jane asked if he meant Kaidan Alenko and asked what he was doing there. Great. Kaidan’s here. Garrus thought as he felt his heart sink as he remembered seeing him and Jane together back at the Citadel hospital but then he thought about what Joker said about them not being together and Jane not contacting Kaidan when she was brought back. I wonder why she wouldn’t have told him anything, Garrus thought but shook his thoughts so he could focus on the conversation. The man said Kaidan claimed to had been sent there to help with the defense towers and accused him of spying on them. He then said it was the Alliance's fault for them being attacked because they were fine until they built the towers.  
“The collectors are attacking remote colonies, the Alliance was trying to help.” Jane told the man. He said he thought they were a myth to keep people in Alliance space. He told them where the towers were and Jane told him to stay put and lock the doors behind them once they were gone.   
They arrived at the tower the man told them about and Jane hacked the console. She radioed Joker that they needed help getting them online. EDI told them it would take a few minutes to get through it and warned them they had company incoming. They all ran for cover and started taking out collectors and husks as they appeared.  
“Ha! Six! Whatcha got, Vakarian?” He heard Jane yell.  
“We're keeping count?” Garrus asked her even though he’d been secretly counting his.  
“Of course! Don’t we always? Let’s bet on drinks again!” She said with a laugh.  
“Heh. Okay. I’m at seven.” He said as he shot down a husk. I really did miss this, he thought to himself.  
When they thought they had gotten them all, some kind of flying construct that looked to have several husks fused into it came towards them. What the hell is that thing? Garrus thought. He glanced in time to see Jane aiming the particle beam she picked up at it and noticed it was slowly whittling down its barrier. After a few moments, it exploded and he heard Jane let out a victory yell.  
“That’s got to count for at least eight! Did you see all the husks on it?!” She hollered and Garrus just laughed. They witnessed the tower’s laser damage the collector ship enough to cause it to retreat.  
“Damn. You can fight, Shepard.” He heard Grunt say. Just then, the mechanic from before came out saying he had heard of Shepard before.  
That’s when Garrus heard a familiar voice speak up, saying she was commander Shepard and announced she was the captain of the Normandy, first human spectre, and the hero of the Citadel. Kaidan, of course. Garrus thought as he saw him walk towards them. He then called the man Delan and said he was in the presence of a legend and a ghost. After Delan walked away, cursing Kaidan for making it instead of his friends, Kaidan went up and hugged Jane. Garrus wanted to stop him but figured it wasn’t his place. Just then, Kaidan pulled away and had a sour look on his face. When Jane asked if something was wrong, he started angrily telling her that he thought she was dead for the past two years and told her he thought they had something and that he had loved her. He then asked her why she didn’t tell him she was alive. She tried to explain to him that she wasn’t conscious and she was just on a Cerberus operating table the past two years. That’s when he backed up and went off on her for being with Cerberus and looked at Garrus and couldn’t believe he was with them as well. He said he couldn’t believe the reports were true and accused them of working for the enemy. She asked if the real reason he was there was to investigate her and he said he was there to investigate Cerberus and went off on her for being with them. He accused her of turning her back on what they believed in, betraying the Alliance and him. Jane tried to plead with him, telling him he knew her and that she’d never betray the Alliance. Garrus tried explaining he was too focused on Cerberus to see the real threat. Jane tried telling him that he was letting his history with Cerberus cloud his judgement but he wouldn’t listen to her. He accused her of being blind and insisted she was different and a traitor. He then looked at Grunt and said something about Jane replacing Wrex pretty quick. Garrus could see how hurt she was so he spoke up.  
“Dammit, Kaidan. Would you listen to reason and stop accusing Jane of being a traitor?!” He confronted him as he stepped in front of Jane.  
“Of course, you’re sticking up for her. You’re still following her around like a loyal puppy.” Kaidan scoffed at him.  
“No. I know what she’s doing is the right thing. And I’m being a loyal friend.” Garrus stood his ground.  
“Right. And where were you when she was in the hospital? Or the Normandy when we got shot down and she died?” Kaidan asked him.  
“That was a mistake. I’ve owned up to that. But I’m here now and I’m not chastising her for doing what she believes is right!” Garrus yelled at his face.  
“We both know why you’re with her and it’s not to be her ‘friend’. Go ahead. I’m done with her anyways. I don’t associate with dirty, damn traitors. She was better off before Cerberus got ahold of her.” Kaidan said angrily.  
“Why, you-" Garrus started as he rolled his hand into a fist, ready to punch him.  
“That’s enough, you two!” Jane yelled as she put herself between them. “Kaidan, don’t take your anger out on Garrus. And Garrus, I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but we have more important things to do.”  
“I have to get back to give my report, anyways. So long, Shepard.” Kaidan said as he turned and walked away.  
“Goodbye, Kaidan.” Jane said with a sad sigh. She then radioed Joker for a pickup. “I’ve had enough of this damn colony.”


	30. Horizon: Jane's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane is feeling guilty after Garrus and Grunt caught the plague on Omega. Even though they got the cure, she's unsure how to apologize to Garrus for it. Later, she's forced to confront Kaidan and try to explain why she didn't let him know she was alive...

Jane opened her eyes just in time to see Garrus leaving her room. She thought she heard him tell someone to meet him in the Mess Hall. I hope he’s not angry that I didn't wake him up last night, Jane thought before getting dressed. She decided to grab some coffee and discuss the next mission with Miranda. She saw Joker and Garrus talking in the mess hall and greeted them both as she walked by but Garrus reacted a little strange. I wonder what they’re talking about, Jane thought to herself as she entered Miranda’s office.

She and Miranda discussed how to go about recruiting the scientist when rumor on Omega was he was in the middle of a quarantine zone.

“I’ll figure a way out to get to him.” Jane told her.

“But we don’t know why they’re in quarantine. Rumor is there’s some kind of plague going on. We should learn more about it.” Miranda told her.

“Eh. I’ll manage. We need that scientist if we want to figure out a way to get around those bug things.” Jane told her. She wasn’t a big fan of Miranda’s but she knew Miranda was in charge right after her and she had to admit she was smart. I really miss Liara right now, she thought.

“Shepard, you should be more careful. We just brought you back with science, we didn’t make you indestructible. I’m still not happy about how you went about that krogan business. He could’ve killed you.” Miranda scolded her.

“I had it handled. But I bet you really wish you could’ve inserted that control chip now, huh?” Jane said to her, annoyed. Miranda just sat there, glaring at her. Jane decided she was done there, stood up, then left her office. She saw Garrus sitting by himself when she got out and it looked like he was deep in thought. She leaned on his shoulder and told him it was time to go get the scientist. He looked a little surprise at her sudden appearance but immediately told her he was coming. They walked to the armory together to suit up. The walk there was unusually quiet and it worried Jane. She decided instead of worrying, she should just talk to Garrus about it.

“Hey, about last-" She started but got interrupted when Grunt came running up to them.

“Shepard, are we going or not? Are all humans this slow?” He asked her.

“Yeah, we’re going now.” Jane chuckled at Grunt. I guess this talk will just have to wait, Jane thought to herself.

Jane made her way to the cockpit after making sure Mordin was settled in his lab.

“I screwed up.” She blurted out as soon as she saw Joker.

“What?” Joker turned around in his chair.

“We almost lost Garrus and Grunt because I wasn’t thinking..” She confessed to him. I can’t believe I almost got them killed, she told herself.

“The-the plague? Didn’t that salarian doctor have a cure?” Joker asked her.

“Yes. They’re fine now but I didn’t know he would going in.”

“Well, what did they say about it?” Joker asked.

“I don’t know. They haven’t said anything but you and Garrus seem close so I just.. I figured you could help.” She told him. “I don’t want to drive Garrus away again.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me. You didn’t drive him away before, he just- he had things he needed to work through. I can’t tell you what but trust me, it wasn’t you. You’re the reason he’s here now. If you’re really worried about it, you should go talk to him.” Joker sounded exasperated.

“But-" Jane started before Joker put his hand in front of her.

“Go. Talk. To. Garrus.” Joker said loud and slow to her.

“I’m not a child, y'know.” Jane put her hands on her hips.

“Good. Then you can go have an adult conversation with Garrus about this.” Joker smirked at her then turned his chair back around.

“You’re impossible! I am your commanding officer. You’re being pretty cocky.” She told him.

“You know you love me. Now, go talk to him.” He replied to her with a wave of his hand, without turning around.

“I’m going, ya ass.” Jane muttered before walking away. I wonder what things he was talking about, Jane pondered to herself as she made her way to the Main Battery.

“Garrus..” Jane spoke up when she got to the Main Battery and saw him working on the guns.

He greeted her back and seemed a little awkward. Shit, he’s probably mad about the mission going wrong. Jane told herself. She immediately apologized about putting him and Grunt through unnecessary danger but he told her it was okay because they got the cure. When she continued to express concern about her not thinking clearly, he told her he agreed to go with and said he promised to not leave again. What? When did he say that? She questioned herself, trying to recollect when he said that. He told her to nevermind that and told her that if she would’ve waited, that the doctor’s assistant probably would’ve been killed. She knew he was right and agreed about that, but she said it was still reckless and stared at the ground, feeling guilty. He consoled her that he and Grunt were okay and reminded her that they cured the plague together. She was just about to agree with him when Joker interrupted them to tell her the Illusive Man wanted to speak to her. Impeccable timing as always, Joker. She thought to herself annoyed. She annoyingly mentioned that the Illusive Man was just who she didn’t want to see and said goodbye to Garrus.

“It seems whenever I want to talk to Garrus today, something keeps interrupting us.” Jane complained to herself as she made her way to the conference room to speak with the Illusive Man.

He told Jane that a colony called Horizon just went silent and he figured if it wasn’t already under attack, that it soon would be. He then asked if Mordin had developed the countermeasure for the swarm yet, and Jane informed him that he hadn’t. He noted that he hoped Mordin worked well under pressure then informed her that her former squadmate, Kaidan Alenko, was stationed on Horizon. Fuck, I haven’t told him I’m alive or that I’m working to try and help the colonies. Jane silently panicked to herself. She asked him why Kaidan was there since she last heard he was still with the Alliance. He said officially it was an outreach program but he suspected they were up to something. Jane tried to ask him to notify them so they could send reinforcements but he told her he wouldn’t until she investigated and didn’t want them getting in the way. Of course, you don’t because I’m sure you’re up to something. Jane silently told herself. She still didn’t trust him at all. She told him that she didn’t think it was a coincidence that the collectors chose a colony that had a former member of her crew on it, and the Illusive Man reminded her that it shouldn’t be a surprise since they were interested in her and probably working with the reapers. He told her that they might be going after Kaidan to get to her. She told him to give her the coordinates and decided to leave immediately. She informed Joker to tell Garrus and Grunt to get ready and meet her at the shuttle. Dammit. I haven’t talked to Kaidan so this is going to be awkward. I care about him but things are complicated right now. Still, I can’t let anything happen to him. It wasn’t hard with Garrus, even though I didn’t initially know I was going to run into him. Still, everything just came so easy once I saw him. Jane thought to herself, trying to figure out what she was going to say to Kaidan when she saw him, she had been so busy worrying about Garrus that she forgot about her situation with Kaidan.

On the shuttle, Jane briefed Garrus and Grunt about her discussion with the Illusive Man but left out the part about Kaidan. She wanted to be sure he was there before mentioning him.

Once they arrived at the colony, Garrus mentioned that they must’ve already been hit because it looked abandoned. She cursed in frustration and told them to look for clues. They soon ran into collectors that they had to fight and Grunt mentioned she wasn’t joking about worthy enemies with a chuckle. Jane silently smiled to herself, glad that it seemed Grunt would stay with them. There are always people trying to kill me, she thought. They ran into some husks which Jane mentioned her distaste for them and Garrus mentioned that the collectors must be working for the reapers. Perfect. Just what we needed, Jane thought. They went further in and found a dead husk laying on the ground. Grunt asked if it was a colonist and Garrus told him that they used spikes to create them so they must’ve brought them with.

“These are more advanced than the ones I fought on Eden Prime. I wonder if they’re using the colonists for some kind of experiments?” Jane spoke up. She balled up her fists as she remembered the Cerberus cells that experimented on her Alliance team years ago. “Let’s go. They’re not getting anymore fucking victims.”

After another fight with the collectors, Jane picked up a strange looking gun.

“Looks like some kind of particle beam.” Garrus told her.

“Sweet! It’s mine now.” Jane said happily, then strapped it onto her back.

They then found a couple of colonists that seemed to be frozen. Garrus mentioned it must be some kind of stasis. Right beyond them, Jane hacked a garage door when they ran into a colonist that seemed fine but angry. He tried accusing Jane of leading the collectors to him. She told him they were banging on the door, so they already knew he was there. He told them he came to fix a grid that their defense towers wiped out when the attack happened and blamed it on the Alliance and a commander Alenko. Dammit, he IS here then. Jane thought to herself, trying to steel her nerves for whatever would come next. She asked if he meant Kaidan Alenko and he confirmed it was him and said he was helping with the towers. She thought she saw Garrus get a disturbed look on his face but wasn’t sure why. She told the man that the collectors were attacking remote colonies and the Alliance was trying to help when he tried blaming them again. She got the location of the tower and told him to lock the door when they leave before heading out.

EDI informed Jane that it would take a few minutes to calibrate the tower defense to hit the collector ship and that they had enemies closing in when they got to the tower. Jane informed the others to get ready and they all ran to cover. A few moments later, Jane yelled to Garrus that she had six and asked his number. He tried acting surprised about them keeping count, she just mentioned they always did. She knew he was keeping count as it was their thing. She asked about betting on drinks, he agreed and told her he had seven. Ha, I better step up my game, she told herself as she put a bullet through a collector’s head.

“What do I get if I win?” Grunt spoke up.

“Well, what do you want?” Jane asked him.

“More enemies to kill!” He yelled back at her.

“Ha, deal!” She agreed. He reminded her a lot of Wrex. Damn, I miss him.

After they had all the collectors down, a construct that looked to have several husks fused into it came flying towards them.

“What the fuck? I hate husks enough already.” She said to herself, then pulled out the particle beam she picked up. “Okay baby, show momma what you can do!” She aimed it at the construct and pulled the trigger to see the beam whittle down it’s barrier until it exploded. She let out a victorious yell and said it had to count for at least eight with all the husks it had. She heard Garrus laugh and Grunt compliment her skill while saying her last name.

“Shepard? I know that name.” The man said as he came into view.

She was about to explain to him who she was when she heard a voice.

“She’s commander Jane Shepard. Captain of the Normandy, first human spectre, and the Hero of the Citadel.” Kaidan said as he came into their view. Jane froze up as soon as she saw him. She didn’t know what to say. “Delan, you’re in the presence of a legend.. and a ghost.” He continued. Delan spoke out his distaste that Kaidan survived when the others didn’t. Jane tried to apologize and explain that there was nothing they could do, but he said he was done with the Alliance and walked away. Kaidan then came up and hugged Jane and she nervously hugged him back, but she could sense something was wrong as soon as he pulled away.

“You look angry.” She told him.

“I thought you were dead for the past two years! I thought I meant something to you. I- I loved you! Why didn’t you tell me you were alive?! How could you do that?” He yelled at her.

“It’s not that simple. I was in a coma on a Cerberus operating table and just got revived recently. Then I got-"

“Cerberus?! You’re with them, after everything we saw and what they did to you? Garrus, you’re with them too?” He yelled at her and Garrus as soon as he saw him.

“Kaidan. I’m sorry but don’t be angry with Garrus. He’s just doing what I’m asking him to. We’re just trying to-" Jane started before Kaidan interrupted her again.

“I can’t believe the reports were true. I was hoping the rumors of you being alive were true but I never imagined you’d be with Cerberus. You’re working for the enemy!” He continued yelling.

“No. They’re not this time. I’m sorry for not contacting you, but we’re trying to help the colonies. Were you sent here to investigate me?” She tried her best to calm him down.

“I’m here because the Alliance suspected Cerberus were behind the attacks. I can’t believe you. I can’t believe you betrayed everything we believed in. You betrayed the Alliance and me..”

“No. Please Kaidan, you know me. You know I’d never betray the Alliance.” Jane tried pleading with him. She couldn’t believe he thought she was betraying them. It made her want to cry but she steeled herself.

“Kaidan. You’re too focused on Cerberus to see the real threat here. It’s not us.” Garrus chimed in. It seemed he was trying to defend Jane.

“You’re letting your history cloud your judgement about Cerberus and me. You know me, Kaidan. We-" Jane tried talking to him.

“No. Not anymore. The Jane I knew would never help Cerberus. You’re blind from them saving you. They’ve turned you into someone different, and a traitor.” He told her, then looked at Grunt. “I see you found a replacement for Wrex, too. Good for you.”

Jane couldn’t speak after that. She stared at the ground and wondered how Kaidan could think all these things about her. All of a sudden, she saw Garrus run in front of her and confront Kaidan. He asked Kaidan to listen to reason and stop accusing her of being a traitor. She was glad Garrus was sticking up for her but hoped it wouldn’t turn into a fight. Kaidan scoffed at him and called him her loyal dog. That’s not fair, she thought. Garrus told him that he was being a loyal friend and was with her because she was doing the right thing. She smiled at his words but that smile disappeared when Kaidan asked where he was when she was in the hospital and when the Normandy got destroyed. She was about to tell Kaidan to knock it off when Garrus said that was a mistake and he owned up to it. He mentioned he was there now and he wasn’t berating her for doing what she believed in. Kaidan accused him of not being there to be just her friend. She was confused about what he was getting at but Kaidan then told Garrus to go ahead and said he was done with her. He called her a dirty traitor and said she was better off before Cerberus got ahold of her. She didn’t have time to worry about what he said because she saw Garrus get ready to hit him. She ran between them and yelled at them to knock it off. She told Kaidan to stop taking his anger out on Garrus and told Garrus to forget whatever his issue with Kaidan was, that they had more important things to deal with. Garrus calmed down when he looked at Jane, and Kaidan just said he had to report in and said farewell to her. She said goodbye to him with a sigh and radioed Joker to pick them up. She said she was sick of the colony and led her team to the pick up point.

Back in the conference room, the Illusive Man congratulated Jane on her team stopping the collectors from destroying the whole colony. Jane confronted him about leaking information about her working with Cerberus to the Alliance. He told her that he lured the collectors because he wasn’t willing to wait for them to strike a random colony. He pointed out the fact that the collectors were the ones that attacked her ship two years ago and went after one of her old crew members was proof that they were interested in humans and her, in particular. He then told her that he would find a way to the Omega 4 Relay and gave her some more dossiers, telling her she should keep building her team before disconnecting their call.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Jane grumbled as she left the room.


	31. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus is unsure how to approach Jane after Horizon but then he sees her drinking by herself. He wonders if he'll be able to console her this time and worries his feelings are out in the open after his confrontation with Kaidan.

Garrus and Joker were on their way to Port Observation after agreeing to have a few drinks together. When they got there, they saw Jane sitting at the bar with a drink in her hand. They just gave each other worried looks, then sat down on either side of her.  
“So, that was an eventful mission.” Joker spoke up. “How are you feeling after seeing Kaidan?”  
“He moved on. I don’t blame him. It’s funny though, in light of everything, I didn’t even think of contacting him. You’d think I would’ve, even with all this shit going on.” Jane sighed as she took a drink from her cup.  
“Yeah. Still heard it was rough. Well, if you ever need someone to lend a friendly ear, I hear Chambers is good at this stuff.” Joker told her with a grin.  
“Well, aren’t you a pal? Maybe I’ll tell Carn you’re a new chew toy.” Jane retorted at him.  
“Uh uh. Remember I’m the one that took care of him for two years. He loves uncle Joker.” Joker chuckled at her.  
“Yeah, yeah. Just rub it in that I died.” Jane said.  
“No, I- I didn’t mean-" Joker stammered.  
“Gotcha. Just yanking your chain.” Jane laughed.  
“That’s not funny.” Joker pouted. Just then they were interrupted when the door opened.  
“What is this? A goddamn party?” Zaeed spoke up when he entered with Grunt.  
“What are you guys doing here?” Garrus asked.  
“It’s a bar. We’re here to have a goddamn drink, obviously.” Zaeed stated before sitting down.  
“We were talking about who had better stories. Him or my tank memories.” Grunt spoke up as he sat down with them.  
“Oh yeah. Zaeed thinks he’s a badass..” Garrus chuckled.  
“Think you could do better?” Zaeed asked Garrus. “By the way, the battles with Shepard don’t count. We all know she was the one calling the shots.”  
“You’re on, Massani.” Garrus agreed.   
They spent the next couple of hours swapping stories of their adventures. Garrus had to admit he was impressed with some of Zaeed's, but knew he couldn’t let him show him up.   
“Well, I’m off to clean my guns. Want to come check them out, Grunt?” Zaeed spoke up as he got up to leave.  
“Sure. I’ll come look at your little toys.” Grunt chuckled as he left with him.  
“Yeah. You know what, I’m done for tonight.” Joker said as he got up to leave.  
“You what? You had two drinks in two hours.” Garrus spoke up.  
“What can I say? I’m the pilot.” Joker winked at him.  
“You- we have EDI.” Garrus argued.  
“Heh. Exactly. I can’t just leave my ship to that AI.” Joker said as he went out the door.  
You little bastard, Garrus thought as he watched Joker leave. He hadn’t been alone with Jane since Horizon and he didn’t know what to say about Kaidan.  
“Did I screw up, Garrus?” She asked as she poured herself another drink. “Am I betraying everything I stood for?”  
“No! You told me yourself we’re using Cerberus resources to help colonists. Don’t let what Kaidan said get to you.” Garrus told her.  
“I mean, I get why he’s angry but I never thought he’d react like that. And do you think I’m using Grunt as a replacement for Wrex?” She asked while she took a drink from her cup.  
“No. Kaidan was way out of line with what he said. We have Grunt with us because of who he is, not who we don’t have with us.” Garrus tried consoling her while pouring himself a drink.   
“Thanks. And I’m not just saying that for this. Thank you for sticking up for me. What was up with you and Kaidan, by the way?” She asked, looking at him.  
“What do you mean?” Garrus asked her.  
“Well, he said some things. And I know you’ve been a bit more trigger happy since we met up again but I’ve never seen you so ready to hit someone so easily before.” She asked him. Shit, she noticed. Well, of course she did, Kaidan pretty much spelled out that I have feelings for her. Garrus panicked to himself.  
“Well, it’s complicated. But I couldn’t stand Kaidan saying those things about you. He had no idea what he was talking about. He was so absorbed with hating Cerberus, that he didn’t realize you’ve put your feelings aside to help innocent people. Upset or not about hearing you were alive from rumors, he had no right to say those things.” He told her, hoping she wouldn’t question his feud with Kaidan further.  
“You really think so? Now that I think of it, you never really questioned me coming back from the dead. How come?” She asked him with a curious look.  
“Well, to be honest, I had been fighting off mercs for over a day with no sleep. When I first saw you, I thought I was already dead or dreaming and then I woke up in the Normandy’s medbay with a giant scar on my face. I always regretted not staying with you and then I found out you were dead and I- I realized I had lost the only and greatest friend I ever had.” He told her, sincerely.  
“Really?” She asked him.  
“Yeah. Remember when I told you had my own squad for awhile? We were trying to make Omega a better place for civilians, like you taught me. But one of my team, a turian named Sidonis, betrayed us. Got everyone killed, but me. I had given up, but then you showed up.” Garrus confided in her.  
“Garrus. I’m so sorry.” Jane said, as she put her hand on his.  
“Thanks. My point is I’ll never betray you or leave you again while you need me. I made that promise to myself when I woke up here.” He told her, solemnly.  
“Garrus, you didn’t- I never thought you betrayed me. I admit I was hurt when you cut me off but I-" Jane tried to console him.  
“Thanks but it felt like I did. And I never want to feel that way again.” He said.  
“Well, thank you. I’m glad you’re here. I don’t think I could do this without you.” She told him while slightly squeezing his hand. The motion caused him to look at her face and he saw her smiling at him. He wasn’t sure if it was her face or the alcohol, but he suddenly felt intoxicated. Damn, I could spend an eternity looking at her and I’d die happy. He thought to himself. The thought of confessing his feelings crossed his mind, but she suddenly removed her hand and turned her face away, and for a moment he thought her cheeks looked a little red.   
She rubbed the back of her neck, which Garrus had noticed before she does when she’s nervous. She told him she had to get some sleep since they were going to look for Tali the next day. He said goodbye and he watched as she left. Damn, if Wrex was here he’d be teasing me hard-core for this. Garrus thought before deciding to go back to his bunk to get some sleep.


	32. Confessions: Jane's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane is caught up wondering if what Kaidan said to her was true. She ponders about the confrontation on Horizon with Kaidan while drinking when Garrus and Joker show up. Later when they're alone, Garrus confesses something to Jane.

Is that what people think of me? That I betrayed what I believed in and the Alliance? That I’m replacing my friends? Jane pondered to herself as she made her way through the Normandy. I wasn’t expecting seeing Kaidan to be pleasant, but I didn’t think he’d say those things to me. And what did he mean when he accused Garrus of not just being my friend? Those two looked like they were ready to throw punches at each other before I intervened. Dammit, I need a drink. She thought to herself and headed to the bar in Port Observation.  
No one’s here. Perfect. Jane felt relieved when she peeked her head in and saw it was empty. She sat down and poured herself a drink. She was halfway through it, when Joker and Garrus sat down next to her. Joker immediately brought up the mission and asked her how she was feeling. She told him that Kaidan moved on and she didn’t blame him, then admitted that she didn’t even think of contacting him to tell him she was alive. Now that I think of it, I don’t think it was because of Cerberus I didn’t contact him. I was so caught up with being reunited with Garrus and stopping the collectors, it hadn’t even crossed my mind. Does that mean I’ve moved on too? Or were my feelings for him real to begin with? Ugh. This is giving me a headache. She silently pondered to herself. Joker then made a quip about if she needed someone to talk to, that he heard Chambers was good at that stuff. Of course, Jane thought, did I really expect him to stay serious? She made a comment about him reminding her that she died. He stammered about it and started pouting. Serves you right, ass. She thought but then they got interrupted when Zaeed and Grunt showed up. Garrus, Zaeed, and Grunt decided to swap battle stories. Jane normally would’ve chimed in, but she wasn’t in the mood and decided to let the boys have their fun.  
After a few hours, Zaeed invited Grunt to look at his weapons and Joker said he needed to get back to the cockpit. She and Garrus sat in silence for a few minutes, then Jane chugged what she had in her glass and started pouring a new one when she spoke up. She asked if she screwed up and if he thought she was betraying everything she believed in. He reminded her that she told him they were using Cerberus for their resources, so they could help people and told her to forget what Kaidan said. She told him she understood why Kaidan was angry but didn’t think he’d say the things he did. I mean, I did die when I was with him and never even thought to tell him I was brought back, but did I betray him or did I want him to move on? Jane thought to herself while she took a drink. She then asked if Garrus thought she was using Grunt as a replacement for Wrex. She admitted to herself that he enjoyed fighting as much as Wrex did, but thought that was just a krogan thing. Wrex felt more like an older brother and Grunt feels more like an adopted son to me, she told herself. He told her no, that they had Grunt because of who he was and not because of who they’re missing. She thanked him and told him it wasn’t just for the talk, but told him she appreciated him sticking up for her on Horizon. She took the opportunity to ask him what was going on between him and Kaidan. He looked puzzled and asked her what she meant. She brought up that Kaidan said some things and mentioned that she’d never seen Garrus so ready to hit someone like that before. Garrus looked like he stiffened up for a moment but then he told her it was complicated and said he couldn’t stand Kaidan saying the stuff he said to her. He also said Kaidan was so caught up with hating Cerberus to realize she put her feelings aside to help other people. He told her that no matter how angry Kaidan was, he had no right to say those things. She asked if he really meant that and asked why he never questioned her about being alive. He told her that by the time she had arrived, he had been fighting mercs for over a day with no sleep. He admitted he thought he was either dead or dreaming, but knew it was real when he woke up in the medbay with his scarred face. He then confessed that he regretted not staying with her and when he found out she was dead, he realized he lost his greatest and only friend. She felt her face light up. He really thinks that highly of me? Lots of people praise me for taking down Saren and Sovereign but he’s seen me at my darkest and most vulnerable and he still thinks highly of me? Jane thought as she felt elated by his words and asked if he really meant it. He told her he did and asked if she remembered when he said he had his own team. He told her they were trying to make Omega a better place for civilians, like she taught him. His face darkened and then he told her they’d been betrayed by a turian named Sidonis. That he got everyone killed except Garrus and that he had given up until she showed up. She didn’t know what to say so she put her hand on his and told him she was sorry. He looked a little surprised but then told her he was telling her that because he’d never leave or betray her again, that he made that promise to himself when he woke up on the Normandy. Jane’s eyes widened with shock, she never thought Garrus betrayed her. She stammered that he didn’t and she never thought he did and admitted she was hurt when he cut her off and she was about to tell him that she was just happy he’s with her now but he interrupted her and thanked her but said it felt like he did and he never wanted to feel like that again. She took the opportunity to tell him she’s glad he’s there with her now and that she didn’t think she could do their mission without him. She instinctively squeezed his hand slightly and smiled when he looked at her. They sat there looking at each other a few moments until she felt herself start to blush. She removed her hand and turned her head in an attempt to hide her face. She nervously got up and rubbed the back of her neck. She made the excuse that she needed to get some rest for their mission the next day and wished Garrus a good night before leaving.  
Real smooth, Jane. You idiot. She thought to herself as she made her way to her cabin. When she got there, she fed her fish and Carn, then noticed she had messages on her padd. When she went to check, she saw it was from Kaidan.  
“Shit. Is he going to go off on me some more? Well, might as well see what it says.” She said to herself as she opened it. Kaidan apologized for what he said on Horizon and that he had spent the last two years trying to move on and that it took him a long time to get over his guilt for surviving. He then wrote that everything came crashing when he saw her standing in front of him but she was with Cerberus. That he didn’t really know who either of them were anymore. He brought up the night before they got to Ilos and said it meant everything to him and maybe it meant as much to her but a lot had changed and he couldn’t ignore that. He then told her to be careful, that he’d lost too many people. And that if she was who he remembered she was, she’d find a way to stop the Collectors but warned her not to trust Cerberus. He then put that maybe when things settled down that maybe but didn’t finish the sentence and ended it with telling her to take care. She closed the message with a sigh and looked at the picture of him on her desk.  
“You take care of yourself, Kaidan.” She said as she put the picture face down.  
She then laid on her bed and remembered what Garrus told her about putting her feelings aside about Cerberus in order to help the colonists. She instinctively put her hand over her abdomen where she had a scar from the thresher maw attack years ago. I do hate Cerberus but these colonies need help. Maybe if someone had helped Mindoir sooner, my family would still be alive. She thought to herself as she looked at her photo of her parents on the bedside table. She sighed as she hadn’t thought about Mindoir or Akuze since she was brought back. Carn jumped up on her bed to curl up next to her and she fell asleep petting him.


	33. Vengeance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus finally finds a lead on the turian that betrayed his team on omega and asks for Jane's help. She agrees but tries to steer him away from killing him. Later, an unexpected topic comes up between them.

Garrus was pacing around the Main Battery. He had told Kelly Chambers that he needed to talk to Jane and was impatiently waiting for her. After what seemed like forever, he heard the doors open and immediately turned around.   
“I’m glad you’re here. I’ve got a lead on Sidonis and I could use your help. There’s a specialist on the Citadel named Fade who helps people disappear and word is he did just that for Sidonis.” He told her before she had a chance to say anything.   
“You never told me how he betrayed you.” Jane spoke up.  
“He told the mercs where our base was and lured me out with a false job. By the time I got back, only two of my team were left and they didn’t last long. By the time I figured out he betrayed us, he was long gone.” Garrus told her. Just the thought of that traitor makes my blood boil, he thought to himself.   
“And what do you intend to do when we find him?” Jane asked him.  
“Well, humans have a saying. ‘An eye for an eye'. Life for a life. He owes me ten and I intend to collect on it.”   
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” Jane asked. She looked worried but Garrus ignored that.  
“Look, you don’t have to agree with me, but I could use your help.” He told her. Part of him was worried she’d refuse.  
“Of course. Captain Bailey might have some information on this Fade guy. We should go talk to him first.” She told him, then radioed Joker to set a course for the Citadel and to have Grunt meet her and Garrus at the airlock.  
When they got to the Citadel, they made their way to Bailey’s office.  
“Hiya, Commander. What can I do for ya? Scanners giving you trouble still?” He greeted Jane.  
“No. I’m looking for a guy that goes by the name Fade. Know anything?” She asked him.  
“Aye. I know the alias only. He’s been a thorn in our side for awhile. Works with the Blue Suns.” He told her.  
“Where is he?” Garrus asked. He didn’t want to waste time with small talk.  
“If I knew, he’d be locked up. He has some contacts that work in the warehouses. You could go ask them.” He said before looking at Jane. “Gently, of course.” He added, sarcastically.  
They made their way to the warehouses on Zakera Ward and ran into a volus. Jane asked if he was Fade and he asked which of them were looking to disappear. Garrus told him that he’d rather see him make someone reappear and the volus told him he didn’t offer that service. Garrus pointed his gun at him and told him to make an exception. The volus then signaled his krogan guards who pointed their guns at Garrus. Jane and Grunt then put their weapons up. Garrus told the krogans to go take a break and they left. The volus cursed them and told them they weren’t getting paid. The volus then admitted he wasn’t Fade, just a contact. Jane muttered that she thought that was the case and asked who Fade was. He told them Fade was an ex C-Sec officer named Harkin. Jane voiced her surprise at hearing that name and Garrus asked how she knew him. She told him she had the unfortunate fate of meeting him when she was looking for Garrus back when she was trying to get evidence against Saren and called Harkin a lecherous asshole. That made Garrus hate him more than he already did. The volus told them they could find him in the factory district. They went on their way after Garrus threatened to come back for the volus if Harkin wasn’t there.  
When they arrived, Harkin saw them and voiced his surprise at seeing Jane. She greeted him by calling him princess right before he ordered his Blue Suns mercenaries to attack them. Garrus yelled that Harkin couldn’t hide from him. After they took out the guards, Garrus questioned Jane about her “princess" comment and she told him it was a long story. Garrus already knew Harkin's reputation with women and had an idea what she meant. I know it happened before I even met her, but he’s going to pay for that. Garrus thought to himself as they made their way forward.  
They reached an office after fighting through more Blue Suns. Jane opened the cover of a window that looked out into the factory and Garrus immediately started to look around for signs of Harkin. She made a comment about Harkin going completely bad and Garrus said he was always a pain and he was in no mood for his games. He then threatened that he would beat him within an inch of his life if he wouldn’t cooperate. Jane expressed concern and said he seemed to be getting tense. Garrus didn’t like the worried look on her face, but he was too angry to let himself worry about it. He told her that Harkin may have known why Sidonis wanted to disappear and didn’t want him to tip him off. She’s probably going to hate me after this, but I have to do it. I have to for my men. Garrus thought to himself. She asked what he was going to do to Harkin and Garrus said he should shoot him on sight since he was a real criminal but he needed him, so he was just going to loosen his tongue. Jane tried telling him that he didn’t need to hurt Harkin to get what he wanted. He told her that Harkin was a coward so he’d talk before any real damage was done. She then asked if he was still planning on killing Sidonis and he told her he was and that it would be quick and painless, unlike his men’s deaths. He said it was more than he deserved, but he’d be satisfied as long as he was dead. She then questioned if he really thought if killing him would make things right and he told her that he knew she didn’t like it but he had to do it.  
They fought their way through more Blue Suns and a couple heavy mechs. Garrus normally enjoyed his fights with Jane, but he was preoccupied on getting to Harkin this time. They finally got to where Harkin was hiding. Garrus went the opposite way of Jane and Grunt. Jane opened the door and aimed her gun at Harkin. When he tried to run the other way, Garrus slammed his rifle against his nose then slammed him against a wall.  
“Garrus, we can work this out.” Harkin told him. His fear was visible.  
“I’m looking for someone.” Garrus told him as he backed away and let him go.  
“I guess we both need something then.” Harkin replied, smugly. Garrus then went up and kneed him in the gut, which caused Harkin to fall to his knees.  
“Not here for favors, Harkin.” Jane interjected, annoyed.  
“I need a bit more info than that.” He told them. Garrus started telling him the guy was named Sidonis and that he was a turian.  
“I know who you’re talking about and I’m not telling you shit.” He told him.  
“Don’t make this harder on yourself.” Jane told him.  
“Screw you, sweetheart. You’re fine and have a great ass, but it’s bad for business to give away client information.” Harkin said as he looked Jane up and down. That was the last straw, bastard. Garrus thought as he kneed him again and put his foot on his neck when he fell to the ground. He told him that a broken neck was bad for business. Harkin told him that he’d tell him and said Omega changed him. Garrus said it opened his eyes and demanded he arrange a meeting. Harkin reluctantly made his way to the communication terminal and told Sidonis his alias may be compromised and told him to meet one of his guys on the Orbital Lounge. He hung up and told Garrus it was set up then turned to leave. Garrus grabbed the collar of his shirt and said that he was a criminal now. Harkin remarked that killing him wouldn’t be his style. Garrus then pointed his gun at his knee and said he didn’t mind slowing him down. Right before Garrus pulled the trigger, Jane grabbed his arm which caused his gun to discharge into the air. She said he didn’t need to shoot him because he couldn’t hide from C-Sec now. Garrus angrily shook his arm free from her and told Harkin it was his lucky day. Ugh, I doubt anyone else could have stopped me. Maybe my soft spot for her is getting in the way, Garrus briefly thought before he turned around and head butted Harkin.   
“I didn’t shoot him.” Garrus remarked as they made their way out of the warehouses.  
They made their way to the meeting spot in a sky car when Garrus told Jane she should’ve let him shoot Harkin. She told him she was worried and he was a bit too hard on him. He asked if she thought he didn’t deserve it. She agreed he did, but remarked it wasn’t like Garrus. He could see the worried look on her face. He couldn’t stand the look on her face, so he turned his face away and asked what she wanted from him and what she would do if someone betrayed her. She said she didn’t know but she wouldn’t let it change her. He said he would’ve said the same thing before and that no one would bring Sidonis to justice and no one else cared. She told him he didn’t have to go through with it and to let her talk to him. He told her to talk all she wanted but his mind was made up. He said he didn’t care what the reasons were, that he deserved to die. She said she understood and asked him again if he really wanted to kill him. He told her he appreciated the concern but he wasn’t her. She told him it wasn't like him either. Her words were starting to get to him but then he remembered his squad dying in front of him.   
“I’ve always hated people who did injustice. Just the thought he could get away with this.. ten good men are in unmarked graves and he’s still alive. I’m sorry, words aren’t enough for this.” He could feel his voice breaking and quickly told her he needed to set up. Dammit, this isn’t the time to get emotional. He thought as he looked around. He found a spot and told her he could get a good shot from where he pointed at. She asked what she needed to do and he told her to just keep Sidonis talking and not to get in his way, that he’d signal her when he had his shot. She quietly turned her head away and he told her he had to get ready before getting out of the car.  
“I’m sorry, Jane. Guess I’m not the turian you wanted me to be.” He sighed quietly to himself as he watched her make her way towards the spot.   
He set himself up and told her to wave Sidonis over and keep him talking. He watched as she did as he asked.  
“Okay. Now move. You’re in my shot.” He told her as he saw the back of her head in his sniper scope.  
“Sidonis. Don’t move. I’m a friend of Garrus'.” He heard her say. No, what are you doing? He thought to himself.  
“What? Are you joking?” He heard Sidonis starting to panic.  
“Dammit. I’m taking the shot as soon as he moves.” Garrus said, angrily.   
“Screw this. Tell Garrus I had my own problems.” Sidonis said as he turned to walk away. Just a little more and you’re done, Garrus thought as he waited for his shot.  
“Don’t move.” Jane said as she grabbed his arm. Damn, she knows I won’t shoot her.  
Sidonis told Jane to get off him and she told him she was the only thing between him and a hole in the head. He cursed then started ranting how he didn’t want to do it and they threatened to kill him. His excuses just made Garrus more angry and he once again told Jane to move and said he was a coward. Sidonis kept talking and said how he felt guilty and he didn’t sleep, barely ate, and sometimes wished he was dead. Jane followed close as he walked to a railing, staying in the scope's view the whole time.  
“Just give me the chance, Jane.” Garrus said to her.  
“He’s suffered enough.” She replied.  
“No. He’s still alive and my men aren’t.” Garrus told her.  
“Look at him. This isn’t living. He’s already dead inside.” She pleaded with him. Sidonis then said there was nothing he could say to Garrus to make it better.  
“Go..just tell him to go.” Garrus told Jane. Dammit, her influence still has a strong hold on me. He sighed as he lowered his sniper. Jane told Sidonis he got a second chance and not to waste it before she walked away.  
When they met up again, Garrus told Jane he knew she wanted to talk about it but he didn’t want to yet. She told him he did the right thing and he told her maybe but his men deserved to be avenged. He admitted he had him in his sights but he couldn’t do it. She told him good and evil were blurred when it was people they knew. He agreed and said things were easier when they were black and white, that he didn’t know what to do with grey. She told him to follow his instincts and he told her that’s what got him into that mess. She told him not to be so hard on himself and gave him a gentle hug. He softly patted her back and thanked her. Maybe it was worth it. At least you don’t hate me. I don’t think I could handle that. He thought before letting go and saying he wanted to get back to the Normandy.  
Later Garrus was in the Main Battery when Jane showed up. He thanked her for her help again and told her it was strange getting ready for a suicide mission on a human ship, that it was different on turian ships. She said she thought he’d be used to it after tracking down Saren. He told her it was different because they made it up as they went, that they didn’t have all the information like they did now.  
“What do you think of our chances?” She asked him.  
“Well, the collectors killed you once and only managed to piss you off.” Garrus laughed. He was still amazed she was brought back and he got a second chance to be around her.  
“Well, how did they do it on turian ships?” She asked as she sat down on a crate.  
“Violence, usually. Commanders know when the crew needs to blow off steam and let them exercise and even do full on sparring sometimes.” He told her.  
“They let you fight each other?” She asked, surprised.  
“They keep watch and don’t let us seriously injure each other. One time, we were waiting for a high risk operation and me and this recon scout had been at each other’s throats, so we decided to settle it in the ring.” He told her.  
“Did you take it easy on her?” Jane asked.  
“Actually, we were to two highest ranked hand to hand specialists. I had reach but she had flexibility. It ended in a draw with lots of unhappy betters. We decided to hold a tie breaker in her quarters. I had reach and she had uh flexibility. More than one way to work off stress…” Garrus said before stopping himself. Shit, why would I bring that up? Garrus panicked.  
“Well, you seem tense. I could help you work it out.” Jane told him as she stood up.  
“I um didn’t know you were into sparring.” Garrus said, nervously. He didn’t want to get the wrong idea about her offer.  
“Not exactly. How about we skip to the tie breaker. We could test your reach..and my flexibility.” She said coyly as she walked by him to lean against the console and smiled at him.  
“I uh, well, I didn’t know you had a weakness for men with scars.” Garrus replied, nervously. She just kept smiling at him. “Yeah, you know, sure. I don’t respect anyone more than you and if we could figure out how to make it work.. Yeah, of course.” He stumbled his words a bit as he watched her saunter past him.  
“Great. I’ll catch you later, Vakarian.” She said with a wink as she walked away.  
“Spirits. Am I imagining things? That actually happened?” Garrus said to himself as he felt elated. He then realized he had no idea what to do or how things worked with humans. Shit, I need to talk to Joker.


	34. Vengeance: Jane's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane reluctantly agrees to help Garrus go after Sidonis. She tries to help him realize he doesn't need to kill him to get closure and worries she won't get through to him.  
After, she tries to steel her nerves to tell him how she feels.

“Thank you again for agreeing to come with me, Tali.” Jane said as the two spoke in Engineering. “I know you don’t like Cerberus.”  
“Of course! And I work for you, not for them. If and when they betray you, I’ll be ready with my shotgun.” Tali told her.  
“Thanks. I’ll hold you to that.” Jane laughed.  
“So, no Kaidan? I figured he’d be with you.” Tali asked.  
“No. We ran into him on Horizon..” Jane sighed as she remembered the encounter. “It uh, it didn’t go well..”  
“Oh no. What happened?” Tali asked.  
“Well, he seemed okay at first, then he figured out I was working with Cerberus and he went ballistic. Called me a traitor and said he was done with me, among other things.” Jane informed her.  
“That bosh'tet! I’ll make him regret that.” Tali said, infuriated.  
“No need. Garrus already told him off. They actually almost got into a physical fight.” Jane told her.  
“Keelah! They did? Why?” Tali asked her.  
“I’m not sure. They said some things I didn’t really understand. But I’m thankful for Garrus.” Jane said as she smiled.  
“You still like Garrus!” Tali exclaimed.  
“Shh! Don’t tell the whole ship.” Jane whispered as she looked to make sure Donnelly and Daniels weren’t listening to them.  
“You do. I knew it!” Tali giggled.  
“Well, it’s…yeah. I do. I thought it was a silly crush after taking down Saren, but then I ran into him on Omega and he almost died.. I’d never been so scared in my life. And he’s been a rock for me this whole time. I don’t know what I’d do without him.” Jane confessed to her. I have to admit that it’s nice to finally talk about this to someone, Jane thought to herself.  
“You should tell him. Just go for it.” Tali told her.  
“I don’t know. I mean, he’s a turian and I’m human. Turians don’t think highly of humans…” Jane said as she rubbed the back of her neck.   
“Oh, come on. He could’ve left at anytime. He stuck up for you against Kaidan. He always goes to comfort you when you need it. I heard about your dog tags and I’m sorry. And I’m pretty sure those flowers and the stuffed varren were from him and not C-sec.” Tali scolded her.  
“Wha- really?” Jane said, confused.  
“Yes! You should’ve seen his face when he saw Kaidan in your room. He looked crushed. I didn’t think anything about it at the time, but now it all makes sense.” Tali told her. It was enough to make Jane think about his demeanor after the battle on the Citadel.  
“Okay. Maybe you’re right. I’ll at least try to talk to-" Jane started but got interrupted by Kelly informing her that Garrus wanted to see her.  
“Now’s your chance. Go.” Tali told her and gently shoved her out of Engineering.  
Sheesh, she’s gotten pushy. Okay, Jane, you can do this. Just go in there and tell him you have feelings for him. Jane told herself as she made her way to the Main Battery.  
As soon as she walked in, Garrus immediately told her that he got a lead on Sidonis, the turian that betrayed his team on Omega. She asked him what exactly happened with him and Garrus told her he had lured him out with a false job and gave the gangs their hideout location. She asked him what he was going to do when he found him and he told her he heard of the human saying “eye for an eye" and he was going to collect on the ten lives Sidonis owed him. She asked if he was sure that’s what he wanted and he just replied with she didn’t have to agree with him but he could use her help. She wasn’t sure it was the best way to go about it but knew he was trusting her and agreed to do it. She told him they should talk to Captain Bailey in C-sec and arranged for them to leave. What I had to say can wait. I just hope I can make him see reason before he does something he’ll regret. She thought to herself before getting ready to arrive at the Citadel.  
They arrived at the warehouse Bailey told them about when they ran into a volus.  
“Are you Fade?” Jane asked him. She doubted it, but she knew things weren’t always as she expected.  
“Which of you.. are looking to… disappear?” He asked them, taking breaths between using his respirator.  
“I’d rather see you make someone reappear.” Garrus told him.  
“That’s not… the service… we offer.” The volus told them.  
“How about you make an exception?” Garrus asked as he pulled out his assault rifle. Which caused his krogan guards pull out their guns. Guess we’re not using finesse, Jane thought with a sigh as she and Grunt pulled out their weapons as well.  
“Why don’t you guys go take a break?” Garrus said to the krogans and they left.  
“Cowards.. you’re not.. getting paid.. for this. Fine. I’m not.. Fade. Just a.. contact.” The volus admitted.  
“Figured as much. Who is he?” Jane asked.  
“Ex C-Sec… Name’s Harkin.” The volus said.  
“Harkin? Really?” Jane was surprised. She had hoped she’d never see him again.  
“You know him?” Garrus asked her.  
“Unfortunately. I met that lecherous asshole back when I was looking for you to find evidence against Saren.” Jane told him. She saw him tighten his grip on his gun and wondered if maybe Tali had been right. The volus told them where to find Harkin and they went on their way.  
Once they reached the factory district, Harkin saw them almost immediately.   
“Shepard?! But you died!” Harkin yelled out, surprised.  
“I got better, princess.” Jane said to him.  
“Ugh, why you- kill them!” He yelled to his Blue Suns mercenaries before running off. They quickly dispatched the mercenaries when Garrus turned to Jane.   
“Princess?” He asked her.  
“Long story.” She told him as she reloaded her rifle.  
“Right. Let’s go.” He said as he ran ahead.

After a few more fights, they reached an office and Jane opened the shutters to the window as Garrus looked out of it.  
“I guess he’s gone completely bad now.” Jane said to Garrus.  
“He was always a pain in the ass and I’m in no mood for games. I’m going to beat him within an inch of his life.” He told her, angrily.  
“Garrus, you seem tense.” Jane said worriedly as she reached to touch his shoulder.  
“He may know why we’re here and I don’t want him tipping Sidonis off.” Garrus said angrily as he brushed her hand away. Jane just sadly stared at him for a moment.  
“What exactly are you going to do to Harkin when we get to him?” She asked. She knew he was angry because of what happened to his team, but it still stung.  
“He’s a real criminal now so I should just shoot him on sight, but I need him so I’m just going to loosen his tongue a bit.” He replied.  
“You don’t need to hurt him to get what you want.” She tried telling him. This isn’t the Garrus I know. I want him back, she thought to herself.  
“He’s a coward. He’ll talk long before I can really hurt him.” Garrus told her as he continued looking out the window.  
“Are you still planning on killing Sidonis?” She asked, concerned.  
“It’ll be quick and painless, unlike my men’s deaths were. It’s more than he deserves but as long as he’s dead, I’ll be satisfied.” He said without even glancing at her.  
“Satisfied? Garrus, do you really think killing him will make things right?” She asked him.  
“I know you don’t like it, but I have to do it. Let’s go.” He said then went out the door before she could say anything else.   
They finally fought their way to where Harkin was. Jane and Grunt went through the front door as Garrus circled around the back. She held her pistol on him, then when he tried running the other way, Garrus smashed his nose with his rifle and pinned him against the wall. I just have to make sure he doesn’t grievously injure or kill him, Jane thought as she watched the two. Harkin started pleading they could work something out. Garrus told him he was looking for someone as he let him go. Harkin tried to smugly say they both needed something which caused Garrus to knee him in the gut. Jane winced her face a bit then told him they weren’t there for favors. Harkin said he needed more information and Garrus started telling him about Sidonis and Harkin interrupted that he knew who they were talking about, but he wasn’t going to tell them anything. Jane told him not to make it harder on himself. He looked her up and down and said she was fine with a great ass but it was bad for business to give away client information.  
“Pig.” Jane whispered to herself right before Garrus kneed him again and put his foot on his throat.  
“Know what else is bad for business? A broken neck!” He said as he held his foot down.  
“Fine. I’ll tell you. Omega really changed you, Garrus.” Harkin struggled to get free from Garrus.  
“It just opened my eyes, now go arrange a meeting.” Garrus said as he released him and pointed at the communication console. Harkin made his way over and set up a meeting for them in the Orbital Lounge before turning back to them.  
“It’s done. Now if you don’t mind..” He said as he turned to leave, but Garrus grabbed him by the collar.  
“I don’t think so. You’re a criminal now, Harkin.” Garrus said as he held up his gun. Shit, Jane thought.   
“You wouldn’t kill me. It’s not your style.” Harkin panicked.  
“No, but I don’t mind slowing you down.” He told him as he aimed at his knee. Dammit, Garrus. Jane thought as she ran and grabbed his arm which caused the rifle to discharge in the air.  
“You don’t need to shoot him. He can’t hide from C-Sec now.” She told him as he shook her off his arm.  
“It’s your lucky day.” He said right before he head butted him then turned so they could leave and just remarked that he didn’t shoot him.  
“You should’ve let me shoot him.” Garrus told Jane as he drove a sky car to the meeting location.   
“I’m worried about you. You went a bit hard on him back there.” She told him.   
“You think he didn’t deserve it?” He asked her.  
“No, he did. It just isn’t like you, Garrus.” She said. She was secretly glad he was put in his place, but she didn’t want to tell Garrus that.  
“What do you want from me, Jane?” He asked as he turned his face away from her. “What would you do if someone betrayed you?”  
“I- I don’t know, but I wouldn’t let it change me.” She admitted.   
“I would’ve said the same thing before. No one else is going to bring Sidonis to justice. No one knows what he did, no one cares.” He told her.  
“I care. You don’t have to go through with this, let me talk to him.” She pleaded with him, hoping to get through to him.  
“Talk all you want, but I’ve made up my mind. I don’t care what his reasons are, he deserves to die.” He told her.  
“I understand, but are you really sure this is what you want?” She asked. I’m not going to give up on you, she thought.   
“I appreciate the concern, but I’m not you.” He told her.  
“This isn’t you either, Garrus.” She replied. She saw his expression soften but then he went back to being angry. He told her he always hated injustice and he couldn’t let him get away with it. He told her ten good men laid in unmarked graves and Sidonis was still alive. He apologized then said words weren’t enough this time. She could hear his voice breaking but he told her he needed to find a spot to set up before she could say anything.   
“I’ll have a good line of sight right about there.” He told her as he pointed at a balcony near them.  
“What do you need me to do?” She asked, feeling defeated.  
“Just keep him talking and don’t get in my way. I’ll let you know when I can take my shot.” He told her. She quietly turned her head away when she realized he wouldn’t listen to her. She didn’t want to do it but she couldn’t say no to him.  
“I have to get ready.” He told her as he got out of the car. She just shut the door and drove to the meeting place.  
After few moments, Garrus told Jane where Sidonis was and told her to wave him over and keep him talking.  
She did as he asked and Sidonis seemed nervous. Garrus told her to move because she was in his shot. I’m sorry, Garrus. You may hate me but this is for your own good, not his. She thought right before she told Sidonis she was a friend of Garrus'. Sidonis asked if it was a joke and Garrus angrily told her he’s taking the shot as soon as he moved. Sidonis cursed and told her to tell Garrus he had his own problems before turning to walk away. Fuck, Jane thought then grabbed his arm to stop him. She told him not to move and when he struggled to get free of her grip, she told him she was the only thing standing between him and a hole in his head. If you wanna shoot him, you’re going to have to shoot me first, she thought to herself. She wasn’t sure if he would shoot her in his rage, but she trusted him not to. Sidonis started saying how he didn’t eat or sleep, and wished he was dead. Jane followed as he walked, making sure to stay in the scope’s view. Garrus told her just to give him the chance and she told him that Sidonis had suffered enough. Garrus said he hadn’t because his men were dead and Sidonis was still alive. She told him he wasn’t living and he was dead inside already. Garrus was quiet for a moment, then told her to tell Sidonis to go. She told Sidonis he was getting a second chance and not to waste it, he thanked her as she walked away.  
Jane drove the sky car to where Garrus was waiting.  
“I know you want to talk about this but I don’t. Not yet.” Garrus said as she walked up to him.  
“You did the right thing.” She told him, relieved he didn’t go through with it.  
“Maybe, but my men deserved to be avenged. I had him in my sights but I just couldn’t pull the trigger.” He admitted as he hung his head.  
“The lines between good and evil become blurred when we’re looking at people we know.” She told him.  
“Yeah, there was still good in him. I saw it. Things are easier in black and white. Grey, I don’t know what to do with grey.” He told her.  
“You’ve got to follow your heart and go with your instincts.” She told him.  
“That’s what got me into this mess, Jane.” He said, looking up.  
“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” She told him as she gave him a hug. No matter what, you’ll always have me. I promise. She thought to herself as she let herself get enveloped in his hug. He thanked her and they made their way back to the Normandy.  
Later, Jane made her way to check on Garrus. He thanked her for her help and told her it was strange getting ready for a high risk mission on a human ship. She told him she thought he’d be used to it after Saren. He told her they just went with the flow then and didn’t have the type of information they did now. She then asked how they got ready for such missions on turian ships and he told her with violence, usually sparring. She questioned him about them letting crew fight each other. He told her the superiors made sure no one was seriously hurt and told her about one time he and a female officer were at each other’s throats and decided to settle it in the ring. She asked if he had gone easy on her and he told her they were both ranked the best hand to hand combatants and they had ended up in a tie. He told her he had reach and the other officer had flexibility. He then told her they held a tie breaker in her quarters and repeated he had reach and she had flexibility. He said there was more than one way to work out stress before cutting himself off and looking embarrassed. Well, it’s now or never. This will either go the way I hope or I’ll be rejected and embarrassed, Jane thought to herself while steeling her nerve. She stood up from the crate she was sitting on and told him he looked tense and she could help him work it out, trying to sound as smooth as she could. He told her he didn’t know she was interested in sparring. She told him she was thinking about skipping to the tie breaker, that they could test his reach and her flexibility. She tried her best to hide her nervousness as she slowly walked by him and leaned on the console right across from him and smiled. He told her he didn’t know she had a weakness for men with scars. She just kept smiling as she nervously waited for his answer. He stumbled on his words a bit, but told her he respected her more than anyone else and told her if they could figure out a way to make it work, then definitely. She winked at him and told him that was great and she’d see him later as she sauntered passed him and left.  
As soon as the door shut behind her, she leaned against it and let out a sigh of relief. I can’t believe I did that and he said yes, she thought with a smile.  
“Shit! I have no clue what to do now though. I need to talk to Tali.” Jane said out loud as she decided to go back to her cabin.


	35. Tuchanka

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus is nervous about how to go about his upcoming date with Jane. He decides to go talk to Joker about it, but is interrupted when he's told they need to go to Tuchanka for Grunt. There they see a familiar face.  
Later, Jane surprises him with a party at the most unexpected place.

Garrus was about to go ask Joker for advice about human romance when EDI informed him to get ready for a mission on Tuchanka to help Grunt. 

“Tuchanka? How the hell did she get permission for us to get on Tuchanka?” He asked himself, confused. 

He met up with Jane and Grunt at the shuttle and decided to ask her about it. 

“So how did we get permission to land on Tuchanka?” He asked. 

“Well, we kinda just told them we had an overly aggressive krogan who happens to be tank bred and needed advice on him. I wasn’t told who was the chieftain, but to see them when we get there. They seemed both appalled and curious about a tank bred krogan.” She told him. 

“Huh, I wonder who it is? Normally non krogans are never allowed on Tuchanka. Not like it’d be a good vacation spot anyways.” Garrus replied as they reached Tuchanka. 

When they landed, they were instructed to go straight to the chief. They made their towards where they were told he would be and as they got closer, they recognized a familiar face. 

“Holy shit! Is that Wrex?!” Jane exclaimed excitedly, then ran towards him. She was stopped by a krogan who told her the chief was in a meeting and she’d have to wait. Garrus saw her trying to get past him while Wrex looked annoyed at the krogan he was meeting with. All of a sudden, they heard Wrex yell out Jane’s name and told the krogan to get out of his way as he pushed him and walked towards them. Jane asked the guard if that was good enough and pushed him aside. Damn, she has guts. Garrus thought with a smile. Wrex gave her a hug and said he thought she was dead and exclaimed that he should’ve known the void couldn’t keep her. He then asked what she was doing there and she told him that there was something wrong with Grunt. Wrex looked him over then said there was nothing wrong with him, that he just needed to go through his rite of passage. He explained every krogan went through it when they came of age. He offered to let Grunt take the rite for the Urdnot clan. Jane asked Grunt if he wanted to and Grunt agreed. Wrex told them where to find the shaman that would tell them where to go and do. 

When they got to the shaman, he explained that the rite consisted of trials to test a krogan's strength. Just then, Gatatog Uvenk, the krogan who was arguing with Wrex earlier interrupted them. He argued that Grunt shouldn’t be allowed to participate in the rite since he was tank bred. Garrus saw Jane was starting to get annoyed with him as she told him that Grunt had every right to participate and the shaman agreed with her saying something about Grunt smelling “like a krogan". Uvenk then said something about invoking a denial and claimed his krantt stood against him and Grunt had no one. The shaman looked annoyed but said he had to agree with Uvenk's request. Jane asked what a krantt was and the shaman told her it was someone willing to fight for a krogan, to kill in their name and honor. Jane didn’t even hesitate and said she’d be Grunt’s krantt. Uvenk started shouting that aliens didn’t know true strength and started going on about his krogans being “true krogan", when Jane just walked forward and headbutted him. He yelled at her, saying how dare she then shoved her out of his way while the shaman laughed and said he liked her. Garrus saw her rub her head, momentarily before they followed the shaman to the rite site. 

They easily took care of the enemies during the rite, although the thresher maw took some work. Garrus still couldn’t believe they managed to take one down without the Mako. He shuddered for a moment, remembering how many times he thought Jane would kill them with her driving. Just as they were about to head back to the Urdnot compound, Uvenk showed up. Well, this can only end badly. He thought to himself. Uvenk started telling them it was impressive that they had brought down the thresher and that no one had done it since Wrex during his rite. Then he asked if there was any Alien meddling in his creation or if it was just Okeer. Garrus could tell that Jane wasn’t buying it after she asked Uvenk what his game was. He started going on that Grunt would command respect after his rite victory. Grunt asked him what he was talking about and he said it was a reason to accept him, then again referred to him as a mistake but said he could tip the balance of the clans. Grunt just replied that Uvenk had insulted his father and Jane, then scoffed at the fact he now wanted him because he’s strong. Uvenk ignored his anger and said he’d have restrictions, that he couldn’t breed or serve on an alien ship, that he’d be clan in name. Jane then called Uvenk out on only wanting Grunt for his power and that he didn’t really want Grunt in his clan. Uvenk agreed and said he didn’t want to cooperate with Urdnot either but he had to for his clan. Jane then told him that if she knew Grunt, that he’d answer with his shotgun. Grunt agreed with her then bull rushed at Uvenk. They ran for cover as Uvenk and his men started shooting at them. They soon took them out and made their way back to the compound. Wrex remarked on them beating his record and made Grunt an official member of clan Urdnot. Garrus saw Jane quietly say something to Wrex with a smile while he smirked as he replied back to her. I wonder what that was about? Knowing those two, I’ll know soon enough whether I want to or not. Garrus chuckled to himself before they went back to the Normandy. 

“Vakarian, grab some of that dextro stuff for you and Tali to drink and meet me at the shuttle bay.” Jane said as she randomly popped her head into the Main Battery. 

“What? The shuttle bay?” He asked, surprised. 

“Yeah. We’re hanging out with Wrex tonight. He promised me some Ryncol.” She said with a smile. 

“You wanna drink Ryncol? On Tuchanka?” He questioned her. Nothing scares this woman, he thought to himself. 

“Yup. Meet ya in 10.” She said with a smile and ran off. 

Garrus was surprised when he showed up to the shuttle bay and saw Tali, Joker, Grunt, Zaeed, Kasumi, Jacob, Mordin, and even Miranda and Samara waiting with Jane. 

“I’m surprised so many are willing to go to Tuchanka.” Garrus told Jane. 

“I’m only coming along to make sure Shepard survives her night out. We did just bring her back.” Miranda spoke up. 

“There’s no way I’m going to miss seeing Wrex. I have to thank him for those shotgun pointers a couple years back!” Tali exclaimed. 

When they arrived, EDI came on their comms to inform them after the defeat of the thresher maw, they had received several offers for breeding for Grunt and even one for Jane. 

‘’Uh, I’ll pass...” Jane groaned while everyone else laughed. 

Later they all were sitting around, drinking and talking. Garrus decided to sit with Joker away from Jane so he could ask for advice. 

“So, well, me and Jane have decided to give things a try.” He told Joker. 

“Ha! The turian finally got the quads to ask out the lady commander.” Wrex shouted as he joined them. 

“Well, technically she asked me...” Garrus replied. 

“Of course, she did. That woman always did have quads. I heard about her headbutting Uvenk. Never been prouder.” Wrex chuckled. 

“About time you two got together. You were both driving me nuts.” Joker chuckled. 

“Sorry. But I'm not quite sure how to go on with... being intimate with a human.” Garrus admitted to them. 

“Don’t look at me. Humans aren't my type. Too squishy” Wrex said. 

“Whoa! I don’t know why you’re asking me. I’d break almost every bone in my body if I tried that.” Joker told him. 

“There must be something. I don’t want to embarrass myself and ruin the moment.” Garrus said as he took a drink. 

“Um, well I do have some vids. But you can’t tell anyone.” Joker lowered his voice. 

“Heh, of course you do.” Wrex chuckled as he downed the Ryncol in his cup. 

“Well, we can’t all be chieftains of a clan.” Joker sulked as he took a drink. “I will get some to you once we’re back but let’s stop this conversation for now.” 

“Yeah. I’m gonna go talk with the others.” Garrus said. 

“Don’t forget to give our lady commander a kiss goodnight.” Wrex laughed. Garrus just ignored him with a smile and went to see what Zaeed was doing. 


	36. Tuchanka: Jane's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane is informed that something is wrong with Grunt so she decides to head to Tuchanka to get advice. There, she runs into an old friend.  
After things are resolved with Grunt, she decides to have a party at a location that surprises almost everyone.

Jane was on her way to Engineering to talk to Tali when she was interrupted by EDI on her comm. 

“It seems Grunt is agitated and Kelly Chambers is worried, Commander.” She said to Jane. 

“He’s krogan. They’re born agitated.” Jane replied. 

“She has requested you speak with him.” EDI told her. 

“Alright. I’ll go right away, I suppose.” Jane sighed. Wrex probably would have given Kelly a heart attack, she chuckled at the thought. 

She showed up to the Port Cargo just in time to see Grunt throw himself against the window. 

“Good thing they made that krogan proof.” She said as she leaned against the wall. 

“Shepard. Something’s wrong. I feel... wrong.” Grunt confided in her. “I feel like I want to kill something, with my bare hands. I feel like I have no choice.” He said right before banging his head into the glass again, but this time it broke. 

“Okay. I need to let Miranda know to make this ship full krogan proof. Come here and let’s get that blood cleaned up.” Jane told him as she grabbed a gauze cloth from a nearby cabinet. 

“The blood doesn’t matter. Why did I do that? What’s wrong with me, Shepard?” Grunt said as he tried to decline her help. 

“It’s not for your benefit, but for whoever keeps this ship clean. I’m sure there’s more than enough blood on the towels and in the drains.” Jane told him with a smile. “Now, hold still and let me take care of this. Didn’t Okeer imprint anything to help you out?” 

“No. I just see moving pictures of old battles. Warlord voices, but this is a haze. I need to control this. When we’re fighting and moving, I’m focused. But here is... here my blood boils and screams. Everything, even you, it’s just noise! I am tank born but what is this?” Grunt pleaded with her. 

“I don’t know, Grunt. We need krogan help.” She said. I wish I could get in contact with Wrex. He'd know what to do. She thought to herself. “EDI, contact Tuchanka and let them know we have a sick krogan that we need help with. Let them know he’s tank bred, that should get their attention.” She said into her comm. 

“Thank you, Shepard. I don’t like this. Fury should be my choice, not illness.” Grunt said to her. 

“Of course, Grunt. I need everyone at their best.” She told him. I don’t want him to know that I've started caring for him like he’s my own son. He’d laugh and call me weak. Although I have a feeling he already knows. Jane smiled to herself. 

After she left, EDI informed her that the krogans on Tuchanka were hesitant about allowing aliens to land but changed their minds when they were informed he was tank bred by Warlord Okeer. She noted they seemed intrigued and appalled at the same time. Jane told her to have Garrus meet them at the shuttle bay for the mission. 

On their way to Tuchanka, Garrus asked Jane how they got permission to land on Tuchanka. She told him that they told them about Grunt and they seemed curious and insulted at the same time and told them to go see the chieftain about him. 

Once they landed, a krogan instructed them to go see the chieftain. He seemed annoyed at the thought of aliens gaining access. 

“Wow. It seems Wrex was actually polite for a krogan.” Jane chuckled. 

“Yeah. He wasn’t at all like what I was told about them.” Garrus said to her. 

As they reached the area they were told he would be at, Jane widened her eyes in surprise. Sitting on a throne made of rubble was none other than Wrex. She exclaimed her surprise and ran towards him, only to be stopped by another krogan. 

“The chieftain is in another meeting. You’ll have to wait.” He grunted at her. 

“Are you kidding me?!” Jane huffed as she tried to get past him. Just then, another krogan came up and blocked her way as well. Are you fucking kidding me? Jane thought. She was annoyed that she wasn’t able to see Wrex right away. She heard him arguing with another krogan. Wrex looked annoyed, then he looked her way and she swore he jumped out of his chair. The other krogan was still trying to yell at him, when he pushed him aside and told him to move. 

“Shepard, my friend!” They heard him yell as he made their way towards them. 

“Good enough?” She asked the guard as she pushed his arm out of her way. No one was going to get in her way of seeing Wrex, krogan or not. She made her way to Wrex and shared a hug with him. 

“I heard you were dead.” He said as he let go of her. 

“What can I say? I got better.” She smirked back at him. 

“Ha ha! Should’ve known the Void couldn’t hold someone like you. Sure you’re not part krogan?” He chuckled. 

“Last I checked. Had a great teacher, though.” She smiled. 

“So, I doubt you came here just for a reunion with your favorite krogan. What brings you here?” He asked her. 

“There’s something wrong with Grunt. He’s overly violent, even for a krogan. Can you help?” She asked him. 

“So this is my replacement? Ha, lemme see him.” Wrex said as he looked him over. “There’s nothing wrong with him. He just needs to go through his Rite of Passage.” 

“What’s that?” Jane asked him. 

“Trials that every krogan go through once they’re of age. Tell you what, since he’s with you, I'll even let him do the rite for Urdnot.” Wrex informed her. 

“Really? Thank you. But I'd like to leave that up to him. Is this what you want, Grunt?” She said as she turned to Grunt. 

“I’ll do it. It's in my blood.” Grunt said after looking around the compound for a moment. 

“Alright, just down that way a bit is our shaman. He’ll tell you what it entails.” Wrex said as he pointed them to where they needed to go. “And Shepard? Watch out, how many times have you stepped in a mess for your crew?” 

“It was great to see you too, Wrex.” She replied as she walked away. I wonder what he meant by that. She thought as they made their way to the shaman. 

The shaman explained to them what they would need to do. Which was basically take care of whatever the keystone threw at them and survive. 

“I object this!” They heard a voice call out. Jane recognized him as Gatatog Uvenk, the krogan that was arguing with Wrex earlier. “He is tank bred. The rite is for true krogan only!” 

“Of course, you’d object.” The shaman sighed. 

“He has every right to do this rite. He is as much krogan as anyone here, maybe even more.” Jane said as she crossed her arms. She heard both Grunt and the shaman chuckle. 

“He smells like a krogan to me, Urdnot. Your objections ring hollow.” The shaman said to him. 

“I invoke a denial!” He said after looking flustered. “My krannt stands against him and he has no one.” 

“You’re a pain in the quads but I have no choice but to comply. Unless... do you have a krannt, Grunt?” The shaman turned to them. 

“What’s that?” Jane asked. 

“Someone willing to fight for him. To kill in his name and honor.” He told her. 

“Oh yeah. We'll fight for him.” She replied with a smirk. 

“This is absurd! Aliens don’t know true strength. My krogan are true krogan and this-” Uvenk started shouting. I’ve had just about enough of this shit. Jane thought and threw her head at his with all her strength, which surprisingly almost knocked him over. “How dare you?!” He shouted, then pushed her out of his way as he stormed off. OWW! Let’s never do that again. She thought to herself as she rubbed her throbbing forehead. The shaman laughed and said he liked her before helping them get on their way to the rite site. 

Jane was panting and still in disbelief they actually took down a thresher maw on foot, when they saw Uvenk show up. 

“Great. What now? Think he’s here to congratulate you?” Jane asked. 

“Doubt it. If he wants a fight, I'll gladly do it.” Grunt replied. 

“You took down a thresher maw. That's impressive. No one has down that since Wrex’s rite. So there was no alien meddling in your creation, just Okeer?” He asked. The nerve of this guy, Jane thought. 

“What’s your game?” She asked him. She didn’t trust him one bit and she kept her hand on her rifle. 

“After defeating a thresher on foot, he’ll command great respect in the clans.” Uvenk replied. 

“What are you talking about? Spit it out.” Grunt said to him. 

“It’s a reason to accept you. You are a mistake, but you could tip the balance within the clans.” Uvenk said. 

“Call him a mistake one more time, you quadless pyjack!” Jane yelled at him, ready to fight him at a moment’s notice. Uvenk scowled at her but was interrupted by Grunt. 

“You insulted my father, insulted Shepard. And now you want me because I'm strong?!” Grunt yelled at him. 

“You’d have restrictions, of course. You wouldn’t be able to breed or serve on an alien ship. You'd be clan in name only.” Uvenk said, ignoring them. 

“You only want him for his strength. You don’t really want Grunt in your clan!” Jane accused him. I’m really sick of his shit. She thought. 

“Of course, I don’t. I didn’t really want to cooperate with Urdnot either, but I was forced to for my clan.” He replied. 

Jane said if she knew Grunt, he would answer with his shotgun. Grunt agreed and they got into a fight with Uvenk and his followers. They quickly dispatched of them and made their way back to the compound. Wrex declared Grunt an official member of clan Urdnot. 

“Hey, Wrex.” Jane talked softly as she got close enough for only him to hear. “I’m gonna grab the rest of the crew and some alcohol then come back here. You game?” 

“Hah! Think I’d miss a chance to see you drunk? Let’s do it. I’ll even give ya some Ryncol.” He laughed. 

“Great! See you soon.” Jane ran off with a smile. 

Once on the Normandy, Jane ran all over the ship to tell the crew about the party on Tuchanka. Some were surprised, a few worried, only Grunt agreed without questioning her sanity. 

Jane was a few drinks in, when she turned to Tali. 

“I don’t know how to go about this now. I told Garrus I was interested and he reciporated- recidip-. He agreed to give things a try.” Jane laughed at her inability to talk correctly. 

“That’s great! I’m so happy for you guys!” Tali exclaimed. 

“Ha, thanks. But I don’t wanna mess this up. He’s already been through so much. I care about him so much and just want things to go right.” Jane admitted as she poured another drink. 

“So, you and the turian, huh?” Wrex interrupted them. 

“Ah, Wrex. Come sit and join us.” Jane patted the seat next to them. “Yeah, me and Garrus. Although we just agreed to do a date so far.” 

“Well, he’s decent for a turian. I’m happy for you Shepard.” Wrex said to her. “Here’s your Ryncol. I’m gonna go see what those guys are up to.” 

“Aww, thank you.” Jane smiled as she drunkenly leaned forward. 

“Jane, just follow your heart and do what you think is right and everything will be okay.” Tali said to her. “Shep, do you hear me?” 

“Huh? Yeah, I hear ya. Follow my right and do what is heart.” She replied as she smiled at Garrus from the distance. How did I get so lucky and fall in love with my best friend? she thought before she took a drink of the Ryncol. 


	37. Easing Tension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is getting ready to go through the Omega Relay to rescue the rest of the crew and stop the Collectors. Meanwhile, Garrus and Jane get ready for their date. Garrus is nervous as he hopes he doesn't mess anything up.

A few days after the party on Tuchanka, Jane went to go see Garrus in the Main Battery. 

“We have a few hours before we arrive through the Omega Relay.” Jane told Garrus. “We’re going to get our crew back and take down the Collectors.” Garrus could see she was balling up her fists. 

“How is Joker?” Garrus asked her. He still couldn’t believe that the Collectors had boarded the Normandy while they were on a shuttle with the rest of the suicide mission team. I am glad that Joker is okay but that has to be taking a toll on him being the only survivor. Garrus thought to himself. 

“He says he’s okay. Miranda had no right yelling at him the way she did. I understand he unshackled an AI, but that saved his life and the Normandy. He did yell at me for leaving the ship with all of our main fighters. He apologized but said it made him feel better to get it out. And I don’t blame him.” She told him. 

“Yeah. That had to be rough on him. So, a talking geth and it doesn’t want to kill you for once. How does that make you feel?” Garrus asked her.

“Oh, it IS weird for sure.” She laughed. “And he’s wearing a piece of my old N7 armor which is even weirder. He said it was the closest thing around that he could patch himself up with. Seems oddly coincidental, but who knows?” She shrugged. 

“So, I've been meaning to talk to you about what we, uh discussed before...” Garrus started. 

“Oh? I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable with that.” She said, nervously. 

“No, of course not. A little nervous, yeah. You'd never make me uncomfortable though. I just, I know it must be strange with me being a turian and are you sure you don’t want something or someone closer to home? Wouldn’t that be easier for you?” Garrus asked, nervously. He didn’t want her to change her mind but he wanted to be sure. 

“No. I want someone I can trust. You’ve been there for me since the beginning. There’s no one else I’d rather try an inter-species relationship with.” She tried joking. “But, seriously, I want you.” 

“That’s good to hear. I mean we might not survive this and if we’re gonna die for the good of the galaxy, I want one night for us. Just us.” He replied to her. 

“Good.” She smiled. Garrus felt himself getting lost in her smile. “Well, we have some time. Give me about 15 minutes to shower and meet me in my cabin?” 

“Sure!” Garrus agreed, readily. He watched her as she left. Okay, so I should change into some civilian clothes. Oh, and wine. I should grab some wine. Let's see here, not many credits but it should be enough for a bottle of human and a bottle of turian. I should go see if Gardner has any he’ll part with. Garrus frantically ran around, trying to get everything ready. Spirits, don’t let me mess this up. Everything has to be just right. He panicked to himself as he made his way towards the elevator when he heard a giggle. 

“Kasumi, what are you doing?!” He asked her, surprised. 

“Just getting some food. I don’t like people staring at me so I use my cloak. Where are you off to?” She asked him. 

“Uh, nowhere. I mean, thought I'd go...well.” Garrus tried making an excuse. He wasn’t sure if Jane wanted to keep things secret. 

“Have fun. And tell Shepard I said hi.” She giggled then ran off to her space in the Port Observation. 

How did she-? Never mind. I don’t wanna know. Garrus thought to himself as he entered the elevator. 

Garrus stood outside Jane’s door for a moment, steeling his nerves before ringing her bell. She opened her door and he saw she was wearing the black dress she had received from Kasumi for their heist. He couldn’t speak or move for a moment as he found himself stunned by how beautiful she looked. He thought she always looked beautiful but he could really see the curves of her body in the dress. Again, he saw himself staring at her emerald eyes, her fire red hair, and the spots on her face. My galaxy is finally within my grasp. This isn’t just a dream anymore, he smiled to himself. He also noticed she was wearing a dark red paint on her lips and he noticed it brought out her eyes more. He was usually more partial to blue, but he loved red on her. 

“Jane, you look- I mean, that dress-” He tried stuttering out a compliment but couldn’t find the words. He nervously ran into the room and turned on her stereo while doing an awkward dance. She just looked at him and smiled. He told her he had brought some wine, although it was cheap wine. He also told her he wasn’t sure what was appropriate for a compliment for a human woman and awkwardly said stuff about her hair and waist. She cut him off in mid-sentence and told him to calm down. She then turned off the music and told him he didn’t have to try so hard. He confided in her that so many things in his life had gone wrong and he wanted something in his life to go right for just once and hung his head. He brought his head up when he felt her hand caress the scar on his face. She told him that when he almost died, she was more scared than she had ever been in her life. She told him she thought she had lost him forever when she had just found him again. She also told him that no matter what happened, how awkward things might be with them being different species, that she wouldn’t regret their night together no matter what. She gave him a smile and touched her forehead to his. They stood there for a moment, then he brushed her shoulder with his hand and leaned in to kiss her. He had dreamed of this moment since not long after they met. It was even better than he had hoped. She tasted sweet, like the sweetest thing he had ever tasted and he wanted more. He pulled himself away after a moment and asked if she was okay. He’d hope he hadn’t hurt her with his mandibles. He'd never kissed a human before. She smiled and told him it was perfect and leaned in to kiss him again. 

After a few more kiss exchanges, Jane grabbed his hand and led him towards the bed. She asked him again if he was sure it was something he wanted to do and he assured her that he did. He then unzipped her dress, which revealed her bare, naked body. He found himself even more excited by the sight of her as he laid her down on the bed next to him. He started giving her small kisses to her neck and collarbone, while gently caressing her breasts. He tried to stay calm when she started moaning in pleasure, as he didn’t want to get too rough and hurt her. A few moments later, she spoke up and asked him if he had any kind of protection. She had said that Mordin had warned her about chafing and not to exchange fluids. 

“Right.” He said as he remembered and pulled out a turian condom from his pocket. 

“You guys have condoms?” She looked puzzled. 

“Well, yeah. We’re not krogans, we don’t constantly try to reproduce.” He replied to her with a chuckle. 

“Yeah, that makes sense.” 

“And this should help with chafing. At least until we get used to things. Well, that is unless this a one-time thing...” He said as he put part of the sheet from the bed on part of her thighs. He hoped it wasn’t a one-time thing,, but he didn’t want to assume anything. 

“Of course not. I didn’t go to you looking for a one-night stand, Garrus.” She said as she leaned up and kiss him. He smiled at her as he could feel his heart beating faster. He clumsily put the condom on and leaned towards her. He slowly inserted himself into her until he could feel the warmth of her on him. He heard her gasp and panickily asked if she was okay. She assured him she was and used the words “better than okay”. He then wrapped his hands over hers for leverage and started thrusting himself in and out of her. He gradually went faster and harder as he felt himself getting used to her body. Her moans felt like music to him and he found himself letting out a few moans himself. He kept this process up for awhile until he heard her tell him to wait. He looked at her puzzled, when she all of a sudden rolled him over until she was straddling herself on top of him. She sat there on top of him while he was still inside her for a moment as they both smiled at each other. Then she put her hands on his shoulders as she started moving herself up and down on him. He put his hands on her hips as he enjoyed seeing her bounce on him and felt her hips swaying as she moved. She kept this up for awhile with him occasionally moving her hips for her with his hands until he finished. She then rolled off and laid down next to him. 

“Oh my god!” He heard her exclaim as she rolled over and put her head on his chest, her hand on his shoulder farthest from her, and her leg over him. 

“Well, how was it?” He asked her while trying to sound confident even though he was nervous. 

“It was amazing, Garrus. I wish we had done this sooner. And I don’t mean just the sex. I wish I had told you how I felt sooner.” She confided in him. He was about to tell her that he felt the same when Joker came on Jane’s comm announcing they were only about five minutes from the relay. He heard Jane yell “Fuck” as they both jumped up to get dressed. She told him she’d meet him in the conference room after they both suited up and gave him a kiss on the cheek before leaving. 

Even if I die on this mission, at least I know she feels the same way about me. I’m the luckiest turian in all of Palaven. Garrus thought to himself as he touched his cheek before leaving himself. 


	38. Easing Tension: Jane's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane is horrified when she finds out the crew of the Normandy is taken by the Collectors and swears to get them all back.  
Then after an awkward conversation with Mordin, she decides it's time for her night with Garrus as she tries to calm her nerves.

Jane and the others were on a shuttle to go check out the problems with something called “Project Overlord” when they got a message from EDI on the comm.   
“Commander, the ship was boarded by Collectors. They took the crew but I managed to get rid of the remaining enemies.” She told them.   
“What?! They got everyone?” Jane asked horrified.   
“Not everyone. Joker managed to get to the system override to give me temporary control. I was able to deprive them of oxygen before they could get to him and damage the Normandy.” EDI told her.   
“He what?! You’re unshackled?” Miranda stood up and seemed angry.   
“Never mind that. Zaeed, get us back to the Normandy immediately.” Jane turned to Zaeed who was piloting the shuttle.   
“Already on it, Shepard. Goddamn fucking Collectors.” He replied to her.   
When they arrived back on the Normandy, Jane ran to help Joker as he was just sitting on the floor in engineering.   
“Are you okay, Joker?” She asked as she grabbed his arm to help him up, while Jacob grabbed his other arm.   
“I think so. But, they- they got everyone else.” Joker replied as he hung his head.   
“What were you thinking? You unshackled an AI and lost the entire crew anyways!” Miranda started yelling at him.   
“Stop it, Miranda. He did what he had to at the time. He did save the ship. It’s fine, we’ll get the crew back.” Jane said to her.   
“But-” Miranda tried to say but was interrupted.   
“It’s not fine!” Joker started yelling at Jane. She looked at him, surprised. “You left me and the rest of the crew here to fend for ourselves while you left with all of our heavy hitters! This is-”   
“Joker...” Jane looked at him with a sigh.   
“I’m sorry. Well, kinda. I do feel better after getting that off my chest. I know it’s not your fault, but I saw them just dragging everyone away.” Joker said to her.   
“I know. I’m sorry. Let’s get you to med bay to look at you. Mordin, can you check him out?” She said as she looked from Joker to Mordin.   
“Ah yes, Vrolik Syndrome. Tricky thing. Most likely has multiple fractures and maybe even a few broken bones. Should get looked at.” Mordin replied as he followed them towards the med bay.   
Jane waited outside the med bay as Mordin patched Joker up. I can’t believe they took the whole damn crew. Am I really incapable of protecting anyone? Jane thought to herself right before Mordin and Joker came out of the med bay.   
“Thanks, doc. I’ll make sure I'm careful for the next few days. I know the drill.” Joker said to Mordin. “And Jane, EDI informed me that we should be through the Omega 4 Relay in a few hours.” He told Jane before making his way back to the cockpit.   
“Thank you, Mordin.” Jane said to Mordin.   
“Welcome. Always happy to help. But I would like to discuss something with you. Medical concerns.” He replied to her.   
“Oh?” Jane asked with a raised eyebrow.   
“Dangerous mission ahead. Different individuals react differently to stress. Turians have dextro based amino acids. Could cause allergic reaction and even anaphylactic shock. Don’t ingest. Use protection.” Mordin started rattling on to Jane rapidly.   
“Wait, what? How did you-?” Jane asked, confused.   
“Small ship. People talk. Can provide oils and ointments to help with discomfort. Also, will forward some pamphlets to your quarters.” Mordin continued.   
“Wait. Are you messing with me? I care about Garrus and I intend to be careful but you’re not going to scare me off.” Jane firmly stated.   
“Of course. Hormones. Regardless come see me later if you need anything to help with chafing. Do enjoy yourself, Shepard.” Mordin said with a smile then headed back to his lab. What the Hell? Jane thought to herself then decided to go talk to Garrus.   
When she arrived, she informed Garrus that they had a few hours before they’d arrive at the Collector base. He asked her how Joker was and she told him he said he was okay and that Miranda shouldn’t have yelled at him. He then asked how it felt to have a geth around that wasn’t trying to kill her. She knew he was talking about Legion and admitted it was weird, and remarked that it was even weirder to see him walking around with a piece of her old armor welded on him. He then turned serious and said he wanted to talk to her about what they discussed before. She knew he was talking about them “blowing off steam” together. She said she hoped she hadn’t made him uncomfortable. Shit, I hope he’s not changing his mind. Jane panicked. But he told her he was nervous but she’d never make him feel uncomfortable. He then asked if she was sure she didn’t want something closer to home. She told him that she was sure and she wanted someone she could trust. She told him she wanted him. He smiled when she said that and told her they were going on a suicide mission for the good of the galaxy and he wanted one night for just them. She smiled at his reply and told him that they had some time then asked if he could meet her in her cabin in about 15 minutes, when he agreed she waved goodbye and left. As soon at the doors shut behind her, she hastily ran to her cabin to get ready. Shit, I really need to make myself presentable. I didn’t realize that I'd be so nervous and excited about this at the same time.   
Once she was in her cabin, she quickly got into her shower and washed herself up. When she got out, she dried her hair, put it up in a neat ponytail with her bangs showing up a little in front. She went in front of her mirror and applied a dark colored eyeshadow and eyeliner. She then applied some dark ruby red lipstick that she didn’t get much of a chance to wear often. Hmm, I should wear something nice as well. Shit, do I even have anything nice? She wondered to herself in a panic as she opened her closet. Just then, she spotted the black evening dress and matching heels that she wore when she and Kasumi had done their heist. This’ll have to do. I hope it’s enough. She worriedly thought to herself as she slipped on the dress and heels. She had just finished up when she heard her bell go off.   
“Well, here we go.” She said as she patted the sides of her dress and walked to answer the door. When she opened it, she had noticed Garrus was wearing civilian clothes for once and she took a moment to take in the sight of him. He looks so handsome in those clothes. I like him in armor too but seeing him like this is a nice change, she smiled to herself. She saw he was holding two bottles of wine and assumed one was human and the other was turian. After a few moments of them looking at each other in silence, he tried to compliment her dress but seemed to be at a loss for words. The attempt made her smile even more. All of a sudden, he ran in and turned on the stereo and started doing an awkward dance which made her giggle.   
“I, uh brought wine. It’s not the most extravagant, but it’s the best I could do on a vigilante’s salary. I’m not sure what’s acceptable for a human compliment but your hair looks nice and uh, your hips-.” He started to say to her nervously.   
“Well, aren’t you just the smooth talker?” She interrupted him as she walked over to him and turned off the music. “You don’t need to worry so much, Garrus.”   
“It’s just everything I try goes wrong. C-Sec. Omega. I just want something to go right, just once.” He told her as he hung his head.   
“Garrus.” Jane said as she caressed the scar on his face which caused him to look up at her. “When you got hit by that rocket on Omega, I thought I had lost you for good. I had never been so scared in my life. I had just found you again and I feared I was going to lose you forever. And no matter what happens, even if things get awkward tonight, I promise I won’t regret a second of it.” Jane smiled as she brought her forehead in and held it against his. After a moment, she felt his hand brush her and before she knew it, she felt him against her lips. It wasn’t rough like she thought it would be, it felt gentle and she knew he must be trying to be careful.   
“Was that okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Garrus pulled away and asked her.   
“No. It was perfect, Vakarian.” She smiled and pulled him in for another kiss. After a few more kisses, Jane grabbed Garrus’s hand and started to lead him to her bed.   
“And you’re sure you want this?” She asked. She knew she did but she wanted to be absolutely sure he did as well.   
“Of course.” He replied to her as he reached behind her and unzipped her dress, which promptly fell down to the floor exposing her naked body. Smooth move, Vakarian. Jane thought to herself, impressed. He then laid her down on the bed and joined her. Before she could do or say anything, he had started kissing her neck and massaging her breasts which caused her to let out small moans. I expected some pain with how rough his skin looks but this is just pure ecstasy and pleasure. Jane thought to herself as she let herself get lost in his touch. Then she had suddenly remembered her conversation with Mordin and asked if he had some kind of protection and relayed what Mordin had said to her. He stood up and pulled out some condoms. Jane expressed her surprise that turians used condoms. He made a joke about that they don’t just mate to procreate constantly like krogans before laying part of her bedsheet over her thighs to help with chafing. He then got undressed and she found herself biting her lip at the sight of his naked body. She wasn’t sure if it was just her feelings for him but she found herself wildly aroused at the sight of him. He then slipped on the condom and then climb on the bed towards her. She felt him slowly lean down towards her and slowly insert himself into her. She gasped with pleasure as she felt him. He worriedly asked if she was okay and she assured him she was and gave him a kiss. He then grabbed her hands and held them over her head as he began thrusting himself in and out of her. She felt him go harder and faster as time went on and she moaned in delight and pleasure. After a while, she told him to wait. He looked at her puzzlingly and she simply rolled him over until she was straddled on top of him. She gave him a quick kiss and smiled. Time to show him what I can do, she thought as she put her hands on his chest and started bouncing on him. She moved her hips up and down and to the sides as she moaned loudly with pleasure. She felt him put his hands on her hips and eventually he moved her hips the way he wanted her to sway and she followed along with him until he firmly grabbed onto her and she felt him thrust into her as he let out a loud moan and she had realized he had finished. She sat there for a moment then rolled off of him. She then rolled over setting her head on his chest, her arm on his shoulder opposite of her, and her leg slightly bent over his. She let out an “Oh my God” after she had caught her breath. He asked her how it was and she told him it was amazing and she had meant that. I have never had it that good before, she thought to herself. She also told him that she wished they had done that sooner and that she meant telling him how she felt about him, and not just the sex. He looked like he was about to say something when Joker came on the comm and said they were approaching the Relay within a few minutes.   
“Fuck!” Jane yelled as she jumped out of her bed and started to get dressed.   
Great timing, Joker. Well, at least he waited until we were finished. She thought as she turned to Garrus.   
“I’ll meet you in the conference room after we’re both suited up.” She told Garrus as she gave him a kiss on the cheek and headed toward the Armory.   
I can’t believe we finally managed it. I finally got to confront my feelings and I know Garrus is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I need to make sure we all get out of this alive. She thought to herself as she smiled thinking about the night they just had together. She felt sore but reminded herself that it was worth it and looked forward to doing it again.


	39. Collector Base

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team finally get to the Collector Base, not knowing if any of them will make it back. Garrus is determined to make sure that he and Jane make it out together.  
Later, Garrus feels his heart get ripped out after Jane returns from a top secret mission.

Garrus had just finished getting dressed and made his way to the meeting room when he was told to go make sure the Normandy’s guns were working right. We should be fine but a little more calibrating never hurt anyone, he thought as he made his way to the Main Battery. He had just finished checking them over when he felt the ship shaking.   
“Garrus. We have a visitor in Engineering. Meet me and Grunt there.” Jane told him over the comm.   
“Of course. I’ll be right there.” He replied with a smile. He was still ecstatic from his time with Jane.   
When he got there, he saw a machine with an eye that had a particle beam shooting at Jane.   
“Damn!” He yelled as he took cover and started shooting it with his assault rifle.   
“We need to use heavy weapons on it!” Grunt yelled from across the room.   
“You are a heavy weapon!” Jane yelled back at him as she took out her Black Widow Sniper and shot at it. She got it right in the center of its eye, causing it to retreat. Joker informed them he had to take the ship through a debris field to try and lose the others. A moment later, the whole ship started to shake which made them all clinging to the nearest structure. Grunt grabbed onto a nearby container and Garrus felt Jane cling on to him. He held her, feeling joy even in the midst of their battle. I’m never letting her go again, he said to himself.   
“Thank you. Sorry about that.” Jane said as she blushed.   
“Always happy to catch you.” Garrus smiled at her which made her smile back.   
“Hey lovebirds. It’s back!” They heard Grunt say as they saw the Oculus return. Shit, Garrus thought as he readied himself for another battle and shot it a few more times. Before they could do anything else, Grunt ran and headbutted it which caused sparks to start emanating from it. Garrus and Jane exchanged a quick glance before rushing at Grunt and pushing him behind a crate with them. Half a second later, the Oculus had exploded.   
“That’s my boy, Grunt!” Jane said as she gave him a high five.   
“Heh heh. You said I was a heavy weapon.” He chuckled back at her.   
Joker then told them they better get back to him because they were about to clear the debris field. They did as they were asked and got to the cock pit just as they cleared the field. Just then, they a weapon powering up in the distance and Joker said that was the same type of thing that destroyed the first Normandy. Joker then started maneuvering to avoid the particle beams.   
“Show them what we got now.” Jane said to Joker.   
“Aye aye, Commander.” Joker told her as he started firing their upgraded guns at it. He hit it once which they noticed had done some damage, swerved to avoid another beam, then gave it another hit causing it to get destroyed. The blast ended up hitting the Normandy and EDI informed them to get ready for a crash landing.   
“Shit shit shit.” Garrus heard Joker panic as he pressed buttons on the console. The ship started shaking violently as they skidded on the ground that was previously below them. Garrus grabbed Jane in an attempt to shield her from any harm. After the ship stopped moving, Garrus got up from the ground where he had landed while still holding onto Jane. He helped her up and she gave him a smile, then she asked if everyone was okay. Joker groaned and said something about hurting his ribs, then EDI informed them there were no casualties. Joker informed her that the ship was stuck where they were and he and EDI could try to repair it. Jane mentioned they all knew it was possibly a one-way trip. She then called for everyone to meet in the meeting room to go through a plan to destroy the base.   
After everyone had arrived in the meeting room, Jane gave a quick speech about them doing all they could to destroy the base. They went over the schematics of the base and decided to have two different teams to take the two paths to the central area of the base and to have a tech specialist to go through the ventilation shafts to unlock the doors that were locked for them. Jane decided to have Tali take the shafts and told Miranda to lead the second team while Jane would lead her team with Garrus and Grunt before they headed out.   
They moved through the base and took out Collectors on their way. Jane quickly ran through and used the consoles along the way to keep the vents cool enough for Tali to get through. Once they had gotten through the doors in the central chamber and locked them behind them, they noticed the same strange pods they saw on the Collector ship but these ones had humans inside them still. Garrus saw Jane peer into one that had what looked like one of the missing colonists in it. All of a sudden, the woman woke up and started screaming and it looks as if she was disintegrating into some kind of liquid.   
“Fuck! They’re still alive! Get them the hell out now!” He heard Jane yell as she frantically tried to get the woman out, but unfortunately, she was too late. They all started banging their guns on the rest of the pods, trying to get them open. Luckily, they were able to save the crew of the Normandy. Garrus saw Jane grab Doctor Chakwas and ask if she was okay. After they checked on all the crew members, Jane radioed Joker to see if he could pick them up. He said he could from their starting point. Garrus could see that Jane knew they couldn’t make it on their own and had Mordin escort them back. They were also informed that there were seeker swarms ahead in their way, Jane made the choice to have Jack guide them through with a biotic shield around them so they could unlock the door for the others. She had Jacob lead a distraction team for them.   
They had made it through the seeker swarm, barely, before Jack got exhausted. After they opened the door for the distraction team, Jane radioed Joker to make sure the crew made it back to the ship and he confirmed they did. EDI told them that there were platforms that could take them to the main control console to destroy the base and that they had hostiles on the other side of their room that would get through at any time.   
“Garrus, Thane. You two are with me and the rest of you need to hold off the Collectors as long as possible. I won’t make this long. We need to destroy this base no matter what. It’s been an honor to serve with all of you and if we make it out of this, drinks are on me.” Jane addressed everyone before he and Thane went forward with her to the main chamber.   
They fought their way through Collectors on the platforms until they reached the console. There, they saw a giant metal machine that took the form of a human skeleton. EDI informed Jane that hundreds of thousands of humans had been liquified to make it and it was incomplete and would need a lot more humans for it. Jane called it an abomination before shooting it down. They watched it fall, then Jane started to open the console getting ready to set the base to blow. EDI informed them she had the Illusive Man wishing to speak to Jane. Thane pulled up the hologram on his omni-tool and the Illusive Man started telling Jane that they should keep the base and just eradicate the Collectors. The Illusive Man began arguing with her that they could use the base for research on the Reapers and that he wanted to save humanity by any means necessary and brought up the fact that he had brought Jane back to work for him. She told him that the base was an abomination and that she wouldn’t let fear compromise who she was before Thane hung up for her. Garrus just smiled and handed her the charge to set the base to blow up. That’s my Jane. That’s the woman I fell for, Garrus thought to himself. Jane set the charge and told them they had ten minutes to get out of the base. Just then, they felt the platforms shake and the Human Reaper had risen up behind them. He heard Jane swear out and told them to stay by her and aim for the eyes. They soon took it out again but this time it landed partially on the platform which caused them to start falling. Garrus felt the floor give under him and he started falling towards the edge and he couldn’t see the bottom of the chamber. He heard Jane yell out his name and saw her sliding behind him with her hand outstretched towards him. He reached his out to her and she caught him at the edge of the platform and pulled him up. He was just about to take a breath when he felt them start falling the other way. Right when they stopped falling and landed safely, Garrus saw various metal parts falling towards them. He momentarily lost consciousness and woke up to Jane and Thane pulling a metal beam off of him. He got to his feet right before they saw a Seeker Swarm heading for them. Jane radioed to ask if Joker had the ship running and if the other team had made it. He confirmed both and they ran towards the location of the ship. As they were running from the Seeker Swarm and dodging Collector bullets, they saw the Normandy arrive before them with Joker holding an assault rifle to provide cover fire. Garrus and Thane arrived on the Normandy first but then the platform they had ran across had fallen and Jane made a long jump in an attempt to make it. Shit, she’s not gonna make it. Garrus panicked as Jane had just barely grabbed the ledge of the doorway. Garrus quickly grabbed her arms and pulled her up to safety then hugged her tightly. They then raced to escape the explosion and once they were safe, Jane left to go speak with the Illusive Man. Garrus could only guess what she said to him because she told them they were no longer working with Cerberus when she returned.   
A few days later, Garrus was thinking about Liara becoming the new Shadow Broker. I didn’t even know there were any Yahgs in space, let alone that one would be the Shadow Broker. He was happy to find out that Liara had found Jane’s dog tags and given them to her. He still remembered how hard she had taken it when they weren’t at the crash site of the original Normandy. Garrus was trying to keep himself busy since finding out Jane was on a top-secret mission by herself for Admiral Hackett. He was getting more worried since he realized she had been gone for a while. Joker came on the intercom and informed him that they had to race to Batarian space to rescue her. Garrus asked him what she was doing there and Joker told him that he didn’t know any more than he did. What the hell kind of mission did Hackett send her on? Garrus wondered to himself as they made their way to Jane. They had gotten to her just in time before the Mass Relay blew up. Garrus wondered how a Mass Relay could just suddenly blow up and realized someone must have done it on purpose. Garrus rushed to grab Jane who had been injured and took her to the Med Bay. He tried asking her what happened but she told him she couldn’t tell him. Garrus was about to start arguing with her when Admiral Hackett showed up and told him that he had to talk to Jane alone. Garrus complied as he knew Hackett was high up on the Alliance food chain.   
Hackett and Jane had been talking alone for a while when Hackett finally exited and made his way to leave the Normandy. Garrus ran into the room to see if Jane was okay. She seemed fine physically but looked like an emotional wreck.   
“Jane, are you okay?” Garrus asked her.   
“Joker. Set a course for the Citadel.” Jane said into her comm before looking up at Garrus. He didn’t like the look on her face. “I’m sorry, Garrus.”   
“What? Why?” Garrus asked her, confused.   
“You and the others are getting off on the Citadel.” Jane said with tears in her eyes.   
“But you are too, right?” Garrus asked, worried.   
“No. Me, Joker, and a skeleton crew are taking the Normandy to Earth.”   
“I’ll go with you.” Garrus said as he sat down and tried to hold her hand.   
“No! I have to go turn myself in.” She told him as she took her hand away.   
“For working with Cerberus? But the council knew about that.” Garrus asked. He was hurt and this didn’t seem like something Jane would do.   
“No. Because I blew up that Mass Relay and destroyed the Batarian Home world and everyone that lived on it!” Jane yelled through tears as she stood up. “I didn’t want to but these crazy fucking scientists had gotten indoctrinated from a Reaper artifact and were opening a doorway through the Relay for the Reapers to come through. I tried to warn the Batarians but the message wouldn’t go through. I did this alone and I’m not letting any of you get in trouble or detained for it.”   
“I don’t care. I’ll go with you.” Garrus tried pleading with her as he got up to hug her.   
“No. I won’t let you go through that. Go to Palaven. Warn them about the Reapers. They’re still coming. I only delayed them. Please, Garrus.” She pleaded through tears while tightly hugging him back.   
“But-okay. But promise me that I'll see you again.” Garrus said as he gently patted her back.   
“I promise I'll do everything I can to see you again.” She said as she gave him a quick kiss. “I’m sorry but I have to go tell everyone else. Just remember, no matter what, I really do care about you and I'll be thinking of you.” She said as she left the room.   
“Me too. I love you.” Garrus said quietly but no one was there to hear him.


End file.
